


Marked

by Aubrey_Snape



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: A Bunch of Original Characters, Animal Transformation, Background Relationships, Bats, F/M, Harry Potter 7th year, I do what I want, Non-Canon Relationship, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-17
Updated: 2014-03-25
Packaged: 2017-12-23 20:09:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 95,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/930618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aubrey_Snape/pseuds/Aubrey_Snape
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the heat of the Battle of Hogwarts Hermione runs into the path of Greyback and Professor Snape. The consequences of this action will change her, her future, and the way she views the world. Can Ron and Harry set aside their malice and accept the new Hermione?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Reality

**Author's Note:**

> All recognizable works belong to JK Rowling. Everything else is mine. Do not copy, duplicate, archive, or give out unless permission by me is given first.

A/N: The characters you recognize are not mine; I am not making any money from writing this story. The plot line is mine however as well as any extra characters you see. This is an M rated fiction so please mind the rating; this is also Severus/Hermione so do not waste my time by flaming the story if you do not like the pairing.  
Please do not archive this story unless first asking. Thank you and enjoy! A huge thanks to my beta for editing this chapter.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hermione ran across the battlefield behind her two friends, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley, occasionally forced to jump over bodies that had been felled in the battle. She tried not to think about the fact that those bodies could be friends as she raced past them; she had to remain focused on the task before her. Her feet stumbled over the blood-slicked grass as she ran but arms caught her before she could fall down. She looked up into a pair of unfamiliar blue eyes in confusion, the bulk of the body told her the person was male but the Death Eater robes caused her to stiffen.

"Run," his low gravelly voice said in her ear, giving her a shove away from him. She didn't need to be told twice; she took off after the boys again pushing the strange man out of her head.

"Hermione, there you are," panted Ron as she caught up to them. Harry was panting in the same way, but he had his eyes closed in a look of concentration.

"He's in the forest!" Harry suddenly said urgently.

"Let's go," Hermione said firmly but Harry's hand stopped her.

"No, you guys have to stay here. You have to kill the snake, do that and then it'll be over," he said trying to keep the quiver out of his voice.

"Harry, no we'll come with—"

"No Hermione, you two have to stay, it has to be this way." Harry said firmly and Hermione saw the conviction in his startling green eyes. "You know I have to do this, you know why I have to do this."

Hermione felt tears well in her eyes and then burn their way down her cheeks. "Let me go with you Harry, let me go with you," she argued, but she knew it was pointless. She knew as soon as they had started the horcrux hunt; she had known when she read the book she had stolen what he would have to do.

She felt herself being pulled in a strong hug, squished between Ron and Harry. She wrapped her arms around them and cried into Harry's shoulder. What was she going to do without her boys? 

Harry pressed a kiss to the top of her head and whispered in her ear, "Get the snake 'Mione, kill the snake. Take care of Ron, he will need you. Tell Ginny—Tell Ginny I love her. Tell her that I've loved her since 5th year, help her move on. Help her find another man. Promise me Hermione?"

Hermione looked up into the familiar green eyes through her own tear filled ones and nodded her head. "I love you Harry," she whispered and received another kiss to the top of her head.

"Go," he said sternlyas he pulled away from them. Ron grabbed her hand firmly in his own and dragged her away; he had tears leaking down his face as well. They turned together as Harry ran away and Hermione collapsed into his arms.

A flash of light caught her attention and she looked up to see Ron staring down at her with wide eyes. "Ron—" she asked in confusion but she froze when he opened his mouth and blood spilled out. "Ron! NO!" she screamed as his arms slackened around her body and he fell. "Ron? Ron! Open your eyes! Ron!"

"Blood hell 'Mione, no need to make me deaf," his voice cracked out along with another gush of blood.

She hugged him tightly in relief crying into his chest, "I'm sending you to the hospital wing." She stood up and focused on his destination; with an intricate wand movement later his body disappeared with a 'pop'.

Before she could breathe a sigh of relief however, a spell whizzed by, causing her to freeze as it grazed her arm. She clenched her teeth together against the pain and looked down to see a gash on her bicep leaking blood. She heard footsteps running towards her and she swung around with her wand at the ready. She lowered it out of reflex when she saw her ex-potions professor standing before her. He looked so odd standing there without his teaching robes, but what was more curious was the faint white glow that surrounded his body. Her wand fell to her side completely as she watched him walk towards her, the white light around him mesmerizing her, making the battle around her fade out of focus.

Footsteps behind her made her spin away from the man and raise her wand at the ready. Fear made her body run cold as she saw Fenrir Greyback stalking towards, her his lower face and body covered in blood. "Hello mudblood, you and I have unfinished business," he called out to her. She stiffened as he licked his lips at her. She knew that he had been furious after her escape from Malfoy Manor, and apparently he hadn't let it go.

She opened her mouth to reply when a hand abruptly wrapped around her throat and cut off her air supply. She clawed at the hand as black spots popped up in front of her eyes and she struggled to get away.

"Be still," a silky voice said in her ear she knew belonged to Professor Snape and she stopped struggling against him. Her head swam with pain as she felt something dig into her shoulder blade and her knees went slack, but the hand at her throat kept her upright. "It's the only way," the voice whispered again.

She opened her mouth to ask what he meant but flames of pain erupted across her back, shooting up her spine, and into her brain. She arched her back and screamed an ear splitting noise but Snape clapped a hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Focus through the pain and breathe in, breathe out. Quit trying to scream you stupid girl, and breathe!" he snapped into her ear and she tried to follow his directions.

She opened her eyes and tried to control her breathing, but she saw Greyback striding towards them and her breath stopped in her throat again. The werewolf looked furious, not at her, but at the man holding her. "I always knew you were a traitor, Snape!" he roared out as the distance between them closed in.

Snape swore under his breath and shoved her to the ground roughly; she stiffened as she waited for the hard impact of the ground, but it never came. Instead she fell against something hard, yet not as hard as the ground. It smelled nice, like burning wood and sweat. She looked up into the same blue eyes she had seen earlier, and the black dots in front of her eyes danced in over her vision again.

"Stop fighting it." The gravelly voice said to her as their eyes locked. She looked at him in confusion. "Sleep." Almost as if her brain had been waiting for the command, it instantly obeyed his voice and the blackness overtook her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hermione was lying against something soft and comfortable, but she didn't want to open her eyes. She could hear voices around her, but she couldn't place any of them. The soft thing she was laying on dipped, causing her body to shift and she groaned in pain.

"Open your eyes," a voice commanded and she at once recognized it as the gravelly one from the battle. She opened her eyes, then shut them quickly as the light of the room pierced her eyes like darts. She heard movement and then hands touched her eyelids, forcing them open again.

She opened her eyes and blinked several times to focus them. The man with the gravelly voice was sitting by her, and she vaguely recognized him but couldn't place his face. "Who are you?" she asked then winced in pain; her throat felt like she'd been swallowing nails.

"Ah, the questions begin already, but they will have to wait." he said as he looked at her. "You need to take this." Hermione took the vial from him wearily and sniffed it, recognized the scent of a pain relief potion, and she swallowed it quickly then was handed another vial. After sniffing it again, she swallowed it and felt her mind grow fuzzy. "Sleep," came the command, same as before, and her body obeyed without her consent.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hermione opened her eyes slowly to see an unfamiliar high vaulted ceiling and she (croaked out a moan from the cotton feeling in her mouth. She tried to lean up on her elbows, but her body wouldn't respond to her brain's command. She groaned again as her head gave an unpleasant throb and closed her eyes tightly.

"Ah, she lives," the man with the gravelly voice said, and she felt the bed dip as he sat by her again. "Here, take this," he said and handed her a vial, this time Hermione swallowed it without hesitation.

"Who are you?" she asked, feeling a strange sense of deja vu. She heard the man sigh and fidget at her question. "Please just tell me,” she pleaded, “I need to know what to call you."

"Nott," he said simply; she froze completely, then turned her head towards him slowly.

"What did you just say your name was?" she asked, but before she got her answer, she had fallen asleep.

"Small favors," Nott said, as he covered her up again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

When she next opened her eyes, she immediately saw the familiar ceiling of the Hogwarts Infirmary and breathed a sigh of relief. She sat up quickly, but the pounding in her head and the dizzy feeling she felt told her that perhaps that was a bad idea. She ignored her body's protests and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. She pushed herself up off the cot shakily. The infirmary had a few people in the beds, but not as many as she would have expected after a battle; she couldn't see the red or black hair of her friends and she sighed in relief.

"What are you doing out of bed, Miss Granger?" The harried voice of the school's mediwitch traveled to her ears, causing her to jump. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you, but you must sit down." Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but the witch was stronger than she looked.

"How long have I been sleeping?" Hermione asked the woman as she waved her wand.

"You've been here for about three days now, but the battle has been over for about two weeks."

 

"Two weeks?!" Hermione said, standing up gingerly. "What happened? Did we win? Is Voldemort dead? Is—is Harry—Is Harry alive? What about Ron? Did—Is he alive as well?" She asked in rapid succession her heart beating wildly in her chest.

"Lay back down right now, you are in no state to be up and about." Madame Pomfrey said as she tried to push Hermione back into bed.

"No, no I'm fine. Honest!" Hermione replied wearily. She felt a burning in her shoulder and she reached back to message it, but her fingers encountered gauze. As she tried to pull the gauze away from her shoulder, a firm hand grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled it away.

"Do not touch it," a familiar smooth voice said, and she looked around to see Professor Snape standing next to her. She searched his bruised face, but his eyes were flat and emotionless; the glow she had seen on the battlefield was no longer present. She jerked her arm away from his grip, and he let her go still looking at her face.

"Why the hell not?" she demanded, craning her neck to look at the gauze as if she could see through the fabric.

Her professor didn't answer her question, however; instead he turned to the older witch. "Is she free to go, Poppy?” He waited semi-patiently as the woman ran a few scans over the younger girl, but said nothing in protest.  
"She needs to rest Severus, she is still very weak. Her magic is still recovering from being—"

"Yes, thank you, I will take care of it!" Snape said, cutting the nurse off sharply. "Come Miss Granger."

Hermione hesitated as she watched the man walk down the ward, but she followed him slowly out. "Where are we going Professor?"

He turned around and glared at her. "Ah, the insufferable know-it-all has regained her voice. Happy day," he said sarcastically.

"You know, Professor, I think I preferred you more when you were silent," Hermione snapped at him impatiently as she walked; her fist clenched tightly against the pain that was radiating through her body from her shoulder.

"Watch your tongue Miss Granger! I may not be able to take points from you, but I assure you I can make your life a living hell." Snape snarled at her as he continued his quick pace up the corridor. Hermione glared at his back, but followed behind him in begrudging silence. She looked around and saw that they were heading towards the headmaster's office.

The stone gargoyle jumped aside as they walked towards it, and they continued up the stairs in silence. Professor Snape grabbed her arm tightly and shoved her through the office door forcefully.

"Believe it or not, Professor, I am quite capable of following direction and do not appreciate you manhandling me." Hermione snarled at him as she blinked away tears of pain that had swelled in her eyes as his actions twisted her shoulder. She clenched her teeth to keep from crying out and shut her eyes to keep the tears from falling. After a few calming breaths, she opened her eyes again and found herself staring at the portrait of Dumbledore.

"Hello my dear," said the old man in his portrait.

"Professor Dumbledore, how are you?" She said happily, not realizing how foolish her question sounded until Snape gave a snort of amusement behind her.

"Quite well I imagine, child, and how are you?" Hermione just shrugged at the question.

"Drink this." Professor Snape commanded as he shoved a vial into her hand. She took it, but sniffed the contents before she tipped the liquid down her throat and flinched at the bitter taste. A sigh of relief escaped her as the pain vanished from her body and she took the next vial he handed to her. She smelled it again then swallowed the contents as well.

"Why—" she started to ask but he took a book off the desk in front of her and shoved it into her hands before she could finish her question.

"Read," He commanded imperatively then walked away from her to look out the window.

She glanced up at Dumbledore's portrait, who nodded at her and winked. She looked down at the book and felt her curiosity peak at the sight of the cover.

 

Hermione read the book with a snort of humor, then looked up at her professor who was glaring at her intensely.

"What is so funny, pray tell, Miss Granger?" Snape hissed in a dangerously low voice.

"Imagine what people would say I they were to know that the nickname 'giant bat' is actually correct!" Hermione said as she tried to keep the bubbles of amusement from erupting out of her mouth. The look on her professor's face, however, was enough to cut her amusement short. She gasped in amazement as the man in front of her suddenly shifted into a bat.

He was pure white with two black wings. Hermione sat transfixed, staring at the creature until she felt herself slowly leaning forward. Her professor's beady eyes watched her closely as she slipped from the chair to the floor so that she was kneeling in front of the bat When she was on the ground, his head was level with hers, but were she upright, he would be about knee high. She slowly reached her hand out to touch the bird almost forgetting that it was her professor but before her hand could make contact, her human professor was standing in front of her again.

"So—what does this mean for me, sir?" Hermione asked as she climbed back into her chair as her professor took the chair opposite her.

"You are now my mate. Oh, don't look at me like that! I'd rather touch the giant squid, you stupid girl!" he snapped at her affronted look. "Your life will go on as it normally would, because trust me, I have no desire to be stuck with a know-it-all brat for the rest of my life."

Hermione bit back the retort that was on the tip of her tongue, and instead asked about the gauze on her shoulder. She winced slightly as her professor grabbed her wrist and dragged her from the chair she was in. He shoved her over to a mirror then yanked her shirt down and she turned her head so she could see her shoulder.

She watched as he pulled the gauze away carefully and she gasped out when she saw what was there. On her shoulder was a mark that looked exactly like his bat form had. The pain she felt earlier came rushing back, breaking through the pain relief potion she had taken earlier. She turned to look at her professor.

"You were correct about one thing, sir," she said as the familiar black dots popped up in her vision.

"What was that?" Snape said in a bored voice.

"You certainly can make my life hell," Hermione said back, trying to smile but the blackness licked her brains. She slumped to the floor feeling the Professor's arms catch her as she went under.

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A/N: There’s the first chapter, let me know what you think. Also, I know that bats are mammals, I know that they don’t have feathers, but for this story, he is a magical bat that has feathers. I will also call him a bird, so please keep that in mind. I am terrifyingly aware of bat’s being mammals. Thank you to my wonderful Beta, Kyna Marioc, for editing and making this chapter better.


	2. Confusing Circumstances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adjustments are made as those involved have their lives shift

A/N: Not mine, not making anything. The changes will continue to happen in this story because I was depressingly unhappy with how it was before.   
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
Severus caught Hermione as she fell and hoisted her into him arms. He walked over to the fireplace and managed to throw a bit of floo powder into the fireplace calling; "My quarters!" then stepped through.  
He laid the girl on his couch and stepped away from her, feeling unease course through his system. He frowned as he walked over to his mantle to pour himself a healthy serving of whiskey and sat down in an armchair. He stared into the fire and sipped the drink as his mind wandered to the night he'd bitten her.  
++++Flashback+++++  
He was standing in front of Miss Granger as she lowered her wand to her side, and he sneered at her display of dropping her defenses; stupid girl. Movement over her should had caught his attention, the reprimand freezing in his throat; the sight of Fenrir Greyback stalking towards the girl made his blood freeze in his veins. The girl had seen his eyes shift and he rolled his eyes as she foolishly turned around to face the werewolf.   
"Severus, you have to stop him," Nott said from next to him, and he looked over at his friend.   
"You do it if you're so sure," he snapped in irritation.   
"Severus," Nott called in warning.   
His feet flew forward at the soft command of his friend, until he was standing just behind his student. He grasped her neck in his hand and squeezed, allowing a certain amount of air to be cut off. He lowered his mouth slowly to her shoulder never taking his eyes from the angry werewolf in front of her and he bit down. Blood rushed into his mouth making his body feel overly heated at the coppery taste, but Greyback snarled at him in fury turning his attention from the girl back to the threat. He whispered a few words to the girl then shoved her aside, thankful that Nott was there to catch her rather than slamming her into the ground. Greyback launched at him instantly, but he felt his body shift and his arms spread into leathery wings. He swooped and dug his nails viciously into every inch of the werewolf he could reach; he didn't let up his attack until the body beneath him had stopped moving and was covered in blood. It only took a moment of focus before he felt himself return to his human state. He turned his head to look at his friend who was cradling Miss Granger in his arms.   
"It is done."   
++++End Flashback++++  
Severus swirled the contents of his tumbler and looked over at the sleeping girl still lying on his couch. As if his life wasn't complicated enough, now he had just added the insufferable know-it-all to the mix; not only as his equal, but as his mate. A rustling noise drew him from his thoughts and he looked up to see a brown bat flying towards him gracefully; the bat transformed seamlessly into a man who took the seat opposite him.  
"Nott," Severus said in greeting, holding up his tumbler.  
"No, thank you. They are not happy Severus. They know now that you've turned your back on them." Nott said gravely. "She will be a target." Severus nodded his head in acknowledgement, but remained quiet.  
"There are those who have also turned their back, they say that they will join us." Nott continued as he stood again. The two of them turned their heads as the girl on the couch stirred, Nott transformed once more into a bat; landing Severus' shoulder and squeezing it briefly before taking off out the window.  
~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~  
Hermione kept her eyes closed after she woke up, hoping that perhaps it had all been a dream and she would wake up back in the tent with Harry and Ron. However, the crackling of a fire and rustling of movement told her that it was pointless.  
"Open your eyes Miss Granger," Snape said. She mentally winced, but she opened her eyes. She didn't recognize the room she was in, but assumed it must be Snape's quarters. The pain in her shoulder had returned full force, making her whimper aloud before she bit her lip, stifling any other sounds.  
"Are these your quarters, sir?" she asked her professor as he walked past her.  
"Obviously," he said in a short voice as he continued on his way. He walked out of the room leaving her behind, but she had barely stood off the couch before he was back. He handed her a vial and motioned for her to drink, which she did so without hesitation.  
"Thank you sir. May I ask what happened? With the war, I mean." Hermione asked in a small voice, mentally preparing herself for the worst news.  
"The Dark Lord is dead," Snape said shortly, and he leaned again his fireplace to wait for her to continue her questions.  
She kept quiet though, not wanting to irritate the man. He sighed heavily, "Miss Granger, ask your questions before you implode."  
"Did—Did Harry—"  
"The boy lives," Snape said calmly, though there was a trace of his usual bitterness in his voice.  
"Good, good. Ron—"  
"Also lives," Snape said with the same acrimony lacing his voice.  
"Who did—who died?" she asked hesitantly.  
"Remus Lupin, Tonks, Fred Weasley, and Misters Creevey," Snape said in a slightly less bitter voice, and Hermione blinked away the tears that were threatening to flow down her face.  
"Thank you sir," she said in a small voice. The urge to touch her shoulder became overwhelming, and she slipped her hand back to massage it; as before, she found her wrist being held back by her professor.  
"You really have a problem listening, don't you? Do not touch it!" he snarled at her.  
Hermione jerked her arm away, "Why the hell not, Professor?" She almost smirked at the weird feeling of de ja vu that swept over her.  
"Because, you stupid child, you are not yet ready for the consequences," he snapped back at her.  
"What consequences, sir? You're being particularly vague on answers, and since you don't seem forthcoming with an explanation about this thing you've forced on me, perhaps you can point me to someone who is," Hermione grumbled to him as she looked up into his eyes. She was shocked and surprised at the look of hurt that crossed the man's features, but it was gone as quickly as it had come.  
"Get out."  
"What?" she asked in confusion.  
"GET OUT!" he repeated firmly, and his words were accompanied with a force pushing her backwards to the door. When her back hit the wall opposite the door outside of the room, he snapped the door shut, making her flinch as the sound echoed through the corridor.  
"Arse," she muttered as she headed back towards the infirmary.  
XXXXXXXXXX  
The next day dawned rainy and crappy as Hermione felt, she headed towards the Great Hall for some breakfast. She heard her name being called before she reached the door. "Hermione!"   
She looked up and her face broke into a wide smile as she saw her two best friends with Ginny running towards her. She embraced Ron, kissing him on his lips gently, but pulled away with a slight frown. She turned and embraced Harry wincing in pain as he hit her shoulder.  
"What is it?" Ron and Harry asked at the same time, making her grin again.  
"Nothing, still sore from the final battle," she answered. They let the subject drop, for which she was thankful. "What happened at the end of the battle?" she asked Harry as they sat down with the few people who were still at Hogwats to eat breakfast. Harry started to retell his story, but she found her mind wandering slightly.  
"—so then the curse backfired on him and killed him!" Harry finished dramatically.  
"That's great, Harry! I'm so glad for you!" Hermione said as she jerked her attention back to him.  
"Ron, Fred and George?" she asked gently, hoping not to upset him. Ginny bowed her head and she saw tears dripping down the redheads face, but Ron merely cleared his throat.  
"Right, well Fred—Fred died by a bit of wall that got blown apart; it was fast, quick. But uh, George, well he actually didn't die until a few days after the battle." Ron said sadly, and Hermione could tell that he was fighting to keep his voice even. "He—He went home with Mum and Dad, then just went to Fred's room and lay on his bed. They found him like that two days later, but he'd already gone. Mum said it was from sadness, losing his twin and all."  
Hermione felt tears drip down her face as she threw her arms around Ron. "I'm so sorry Ron, Ginny, I can't imagine." She looked over at Ginny who had her head in Harry's arms, and she hiccoughed.  
"We had their funeral—" Ginny said through tears. "Buried them together, they would've wanted that, and just as they were sealing up their casket, you know, a bunch of their fireworks went off. Scared everyone silly but—but everyone said it wasn't them who set it off. I think it was them, ya know? Giving everyone a last laugh," She broke off as she started sobbing into Harry's arms again, and Hermione wiped her own eyes.  
"Listen Harry, Ron, I know it's soon and everything but—I want to go find my parents, return their memories, you know?" Hermione said calmly, waiting for the outbursts.  
"You can't do that yet 'Mione, we just got back." Ron said on a whine but Harry simply frowned.  
"I know, I know, I'll wait a bit, but I am going to find them. I have to," she insisted.  
"What about me?" Ron said in a pushy voice.  
"What about you Ron?" she said trying to keep her temper in check. She had known that Ron swould throw a fit.  
"We just got together, didn't we? I thought we were going to get married, settle down, you know."  
"What? When was this discussed? I don't remember that conversation!" she exclaimed in alarm.  
"Well, I just thought that now with the war over and everything, we'd you know get married have some kids," he said in a low voice.  
"Ronald, I am not getting married and having kids right now! I'm going to finish school and get a job, and then we can talk about marriage!" Hermione said hotly.  
"You don't need to finish school 'Mione! The Ministry will accept you just as you are!" he argued.  
"I want to finish school Ron, after I find my parents," she said, trying to keep her patience.  
"But—" Ron began, but a smooth voice cut across his argument.  
"As fascinating as this conversation is, perhaps you can do it somewhere else? Where others are not attempting to eat," Professor Snape’s voice drawled as he sat down next to Hermione.  
Ron glared at the man, but stood up and grabbed Hermione's wrist, "Come on, we're going to talk about this."  
She tore her arm away from his grip and remained seated, "I'm hungry and I'm staying here."  
Ron opened his mouth to argue with her, but this time Harry cut him off. "Give it a rest mate; eat some food then after breakfast you can talk." Harry said in a weary voice. Hermione smiled at him gratefully and started eating again.  
"Where are you going, Miss Granger?" Snape asked from next to her, watching Ron storm out of the hall angrily.  
Hermione looked at him for a moment as she thought over his question. "I'm leaving for a bit, I need to get away from magic for a while, away from—away from here." She lowered her gaze back to her plate as she remembered that he was a master Legilimens. She felt his eyes on her as she ate but she refused to look at him. She finished her food quickly and excused herself from the table, still not looking at her professor.  
XXXXXXXXXXXXX  
Hermione headed into the library to find all the books she could on magical bats. She smiled in greeting to Madame Prince but didn't stop to talk. She walked through the aisles, picking out books here and there, then carried them back to her table. A figure sitting at her table, however, made her freeze in her progress.  
"Miss Granger, where are you going?" Professor Snape pressed again as he looked up from his own book.  
"I have already answered that question, sir," she said calmly as she continued to the table and set the books down.  
"Do not lie to me," he commanded in his usual teacher voice.  
"I am not lying professor," she said evasively as she sat down and picked up one of the books.  
"Need I remind you that—"  
"That what? That I am now your mate, that I am supposed to suddenly become submissive to you and follow your command?" She hissed at him angrily. "Let me make something quite clear, professor, I am not going to be submissive to you, or Ronald Weasley, or any other man on the face of this earth. And Merlin himself will be back from the dead before I follow your orders," she snapped at him as she slammed the book she was reading down on the table, then turned and walked out of the library.  
XXXXXXXXXXXX  
Severus stared after her feeling quite startled at her outburst but he sighed in defeat. "Damn blasted women and their stubbornness," he said to no one in particular. He stood up and returned the books she had been reading to the shelves where they belonged. He walked out of the library and looked around hoping to see which way the girl had gone, but instead he heard the voice of two boys arguing. He shifted into his bat form and flew in search of them; it didn't take long for him to locate them as they walked down to the Quidditch pitch with their brooms over their shoulders.  
"-Australia in the first place Harry," The redhead was saying.  
"I know mate, but she had to do this. How would you feel if you took your parents memories because you were a target and you thought you'd never see them again?" Harry said with failing patience.  
"She's not even healed from her injuries yet, Harry! You saw her when you bumped her shoulder. I doubt she's even healed from the ones from Malfoy Manor that the crazy bitch gave her." Severus flew closer at this, he had heard that the three of them had been captured and taken to the Malfoy's, but he wasn't informed of the specifics.  
"It's her choice mate; you've got to let her go." Severus soared away from the boys and landed in a nearby tree, thinking over the conversation he had overheard. He ruffled his feathers in irritation as he thought about the conversation he would need to strike up with the girl, but he took off again anyways.  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
Hermione was walking towards the front gates of Hogwarts when a bat landed in front of her, she jumped in fright, but recovered quickly. She stared in curiosity at the bat; it was brown and had large blue eyes that seemed oddly familiar.  
"You were on the battlefield," she said finally, and the bird let out a noise in confirmation. "Well, what are you doing here?"  
The only answer she got was the bat flying up to her shoulder, and she winced when its nails came into contact with her still tender mark. "Ouch! Blasted animal!" she said angrily, shooing the bat away from her. She reached back to massage it gently finally touching the mark and a tingling spread through her limbs. Her head throbbed painfully and she closed her eyes but when she opened them she was the same height as the bat. "What the hell?" she said out loud but the only sound that came out was a sort a strangled noise.  
She looked around her, and a flash of black suddenly caught her eye. She jerked her head around and saw a wing lying near her. She tried to reach across to it, but it moved before she could touch it. She tried again but the wing moved again; a strange squeaking voice came from behind her and she looked at the bat to see it was laughing at her. "What are you laughing at?!" she demanded, but the strangled noise came out again. Instead, she glared at the bat as it walked slowly towards her and cuffed her with its wing then flew off.  
She started running after the foul beast, but she didn't get very far before she got tired. She stopped and crossed her arms in annoyance. She glanced down to see that her arms weren't arms… they were wings? "What the hell?!" she squawked and tripped backwards over her feet in her shock. She held her wings out on either side of her; they were black just like Snape's. The bat landed in front of her again and she stared at it blankly as it took off again.  
Hermione watched the bat as it flew off and got the hint that it wanted her to follow; she tried to move her arms up and down but it didn't do anything to get her airborne. She focused on getting her wings to work, she felt her feet leave the ground and she giggled in joy at getting it. She flew after the brown bat, and noticed it was flying towards the castle. The feeling of air under her wings was amazing, better than anything she had ever felt, and she closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation. She followed the brown bat into the castle and down to the dungeons but faltered when she noticed where they were going.   
She saw Snape open his door when the brown bat clawed at it with his foot, and his jaw dropped when he caught sight of her. She flew into the room gracefully but slammed into an invisible force and found herself suddenly on the floor looking up at a very pissed off Professor Snape.  
"What do you think you are doing?" he snarled at her, but she ignored him instead got to her feet shakily.  
"I could ask you the same thing! I'm a fucking bat!" She screamed at him.  
"I am aware of that, thank you," he said, his voice was shaking slightly in anger.  
"Well, what are you so pissy about?"  
"I told you not to touch your shoulder, you thick brat," he snarled.  
"That other bat landed on my shoulder and it hurt, so I reached back unthinkingly to massage it," she said angrily, pointing at the spot where the bat had been minutes before. "Erm, there was a bat there. I didn't choose this!"  
"You would have rather I let Greyback get to you?" he mocked her.  
"At least then I would be able to kill the person responsible without feeling guilty!" she roared at him, not quite understanding what the big deal was.  
"You selfish brat—"  
"I don't have to listen to this. Goodbye Professor," she said abruptly and turned on the spot, storming out of his classroom before he could stop her.  
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A/N: Thank you to my Beta for helping me with this chapter.


	3. The Problem With Mates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus discovers just how stubborn that mate of his can be. (Contains triggers of the non-con kind. Non-explicit.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Contains triggers of the non-con kind. Non-explicit.)

A/N: Thank you to all of you that reviewed. I am aware that a bat is a mammal not a bird; I didn't notice that I had written 'bird' until I was rereading the chapter.  
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Hermione's feet touched the ground outside of Gringotts but she didn't slow before she walked into the bank. She waited by one of the counters until the goblin working there looked up and gave her a startled look upon seeing her.

"May I help you miss?" His croaky voice said to her.

"I need to withdraw my entire funds from my account please," She replied firmly leaving no room for argument.  
"Identification." 

Hermione smiled as she handed over her wand to the goblin who nodded then got down from his seat and led her through the archway into the lower parts of the building.

You broke into this bank not too long ago didn't you?" The little goblin asked as they climbed into one of the carts. She frowned as it gave a lurch forward and for a minute she was transferred back to when Harry, Ron, and Griphook had broken into the bank to retrieve the Goblet in Bellatrix's vault. "Miss?" The goblin's voice broke through her reverie.

"Huh? Oh, yes, I did break in. I am terribly sorry about that but it was necessary to kill Voldemort." She responded in a slight defensive tone which made the goblin give a small chuckle.

"Even us goblin's know the part you played in the war." He said simply as the cart came to a halt and they climbed out.

Hermione gathered all of the items in her vault which she then transferred to a magical money pouch in her beaded bag. She had placed enchantments on it so that no one but herself would be able to extract the money. Further enchantments were placed on her beaded bag so that if anyone but her reached into the bag they would find it was a normal purse full of things like gum wrappers and the like. She bid the goblin good day as they re-entered the bank and she walked out of the doors. The sun was shining dimly as she stepped back into Diagon Alley and she started to walk towards the Leaky Cauldron to enter muggle London when someone grabbed her arm.

"Where are you going?" Snape's silky voice said in her ear.

"None of your business," She hissed back as she yanked her arm from his grip and continued walking.

"Stop," He said in the same commanding voice he used in his classroom and Hermione stopped.

"I told you once before Professor, I don't take orders from anyone," She said as she turned to face him in time to see his smirk fading off of his face. She focused on watching him as she silently started putting wards up around herself, something she had never tried to do before. She smirked at him as he started to walk towards her but she turned quickly and disapparated away.

She had barely pulled in a breath of air before she smacked into a person, she raised her wand prepared to throw a hex but her wand was snatched away before the hex could leave her mouth.

"Well, well, who do we have here?" A familiar voice said to her and she stiffened. Her eyes looked up to meet those of the snatcher her, Harry, and Ron had run into. Scabbior leaned forward and sniffed her hair, breathing deeply to pull in her scent. "'Ello beautiful."

She tripped over her feet in her haste to get away from her while keeping a firm hold on her beaded bag. She thought about doing wandless magic but she every time she did it, it left her tired; not exactly something she wanted in she was forced to fight off a snatcher.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" Scabbior asked her as he stalked toward her, keeping only two or three feet between the at all times.

"Picking wildflowers," She responded with sarcasm as her eyes flicked around for an escape, only then realizing they were not alone. Another man walked behind Scabbior and following him three more men, movement behind them told her that there were more. Her heart was hammering in her chest as one of the men picked up his pace, stalking towards her until he was a foot away.

"What do you want with me?" She asked trying to keep her voice from shaking.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," The man in front of her said. He had a cold voice that made the hair on Hermione's arms and neck stand up. She felt ropes suddenly flying around her and bind her tightly. 

"You said I could have her," Scabbior said to the man standing in front of her, who turned and smirked at him.

"All in good time my friend, she has information I want."

Hermione started fighting against her bindings as the two men's words reached her ears; she started whispering the counter charm to the tying hex holding her but the cold voiced man struck her across the face. 

"It's useless mudblood, you can't get away, don't even try," He growled as he grabbed her arm and shoved her to the ground. Lights popped up in front of her eyes, and contact with the ground made her head throb.  
She got unsteadily to her knees but didn't try to say the countercharm again. She lifted her head and took stock of how many people were before her; she counted 18 before the man that hit her stepped in front of her blocking her view.

"Where is your mate?" He asked.

"Hell if I know," She answered hoping to buy some time to come up with a plan. A blow struck her face again and she felt blood fill her mouth; she spat out a mouthful noticing a tooth that had been knocked out. 

"I'll ask you again, where is your mate?"

"Hell, probably, he's pretty—" She replied dryly but her sentence was cut off as she received another blow to the face, this time making stars dance in front of her eyes.

"You will answer me girl, or I will make your life hell." He accompanied his words by drawing out his wand.

"Ever hear of Voldemort? You look like a bubble bath compared to him," She hissed of before she was struck again, this time when she fell to the ground she did not get back up. A boot connected with her ribs and she winced as she heard them crack. She rolled onto her side, an involuntary moan of pain escaping her mouth as she curled onto her side in a reflexive move to protect her vital organs. 

"Where is your mate?" The cold voice asked over and over; Hermione bit through her lip, much like in Malfoy Manor, to keep quiet under the pain. A familiar blackness was licking at her brain and she felt mildly relieved when suddenly the blows stopped. She raised her head but felt her blood run cold as she saw Scabbior walking back towards her. He roughly shoved her onto her back making her gasp in breaths of air as her ribs her jolted painfully.

"You're mine now, let's see if you're good for anything," He said as he leaned down to sniff her hair. "I love the way you smell, your perfume is so… intoxicating." He ripped her shirt open and licked his lips as her heaving chest was revealed to his leering gaze. Next he moved to the waistband of her muggle jeans and ripped them, along with her underwear, away from her body. Her legs were shoved roughly apart then grabbed by two men and she screamed out as she felt finger tear into her. The man above her sniggered in amusement, "You're going to prove to be very fun."

The man that had interrogated her before came to kneel by her head. "Ready to tell us where your mate is now bitch?"

Hermione looked up at him through eyes swimming with tears of pain. "Go to hell," She felt Scabbior kneel in between her legs and felt him nudge against her entrance when something in the sky caught her eye. She blinked her eyes quickly ridding them of the tears and she saw that several things were flying through the air towards the group. As they got closer she recognized them as bats and her face broke into a bloody smile.

"What is so funny?" The man standing above her asked and she felt Scabbior freeze his movement.

"I changed my mind," She said dizzying relief coursing through her body.

"About what?"

"I do have one thing to say," She taunted as the bats flew closer and closer.

"What's that filthy?" Scabbior asked this time but her eyes stayed on the man above her.

"You're fucked now," She said with a smile and she saw a flash of bright light before she welcomed the blackness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus watched the place where she disappeared surprised at her determination to stay away from him. Though if he thought about it he really wasn't surprised, she was nothing if not determined. He had started walking towards the Apothecary when the screeching of a bat caught his attention. He looked around and saw Nott flying towards him which caused him to frown.

"Severus, they found her," Nott said simply as soon as he had transformed, landing with practiced grace.

Severus felt his blood run cold at his friend’s words and they immediately took off again running down the alleyway before gliding away in their bat forms. The first place they stopped was at the rebel bat’s safe house, whatever happened, they would need backup.They came to a stop in front of a cave and they entered as humans, quickly being surrounded by others.

"Severus, what is it?" A tall man said from the back of the group.

"The others, they have my mate," He replied in an urgent voice. There was a flurry of noise and they were suddenly faced with over 15 bats, all waiting for their instructions. Severus focused on Hermione getting her location and turning into his own bat form taking off into the setting sun.The group had flown for almost an hour before they finally saw the people they were looking for. There was a circle standing around a center point and Severus felt his blood run cold as he flew closer to see Hermione lying on the ground. Rage coursed through him as the details of the scene came into sharper focus. Unlike muggle bats, he could see during the day, but his vision was best at night. He flew to the ground, transforming above the ground so that when he landed he was already moving at a run.

"Nott!" He yelled but saw that the man was already headed towards the girl; he drew his wand and started firing at the people standing before him. He managed to fell 5 of them before the others began to fight back.

"Severus! You are a traitor!" A voice called to him and he turned to see Velinus walking towards him.

"I was never loyal to Voldemort, Velinus, or you." He called loudly striding towards the man. Flashes of light were flying around the two men but their focus was solely on each other. Velinus raised his wand and fired at Severus, who blocked the curse, they were quickly engaged in a duel. Severus was looking for a hole in the other man's shield but Velinus has been one of the better trained Death Eaters.   
Finally, Velinus looked like he was tiring and a well-aimed killing curse by Severus connected with the man's chest. He fell to the ground his eyes staring lifelessly up into the now dark sky.

"Stop!" He roared out calling the dueling and fighting around him to a halt. The entire clearing turned to face him; they stared for a few minutes before a deafening flutter filled the clearing as the people transformed and flew off. He took a few calming breaths before he turned and ran towards Nott, who was holding Hermione in his arms protecting her from the fighting.

"How is she?" He asked Nott urgently and his heart stopped when the man looked up at him with tear filled eyes.

"I—I don't think she made it Severus, she's not breathing and I am unable to find a pulse." Nott said in a small voice.

"No, no, that's—that's impossible." Severus said as he fell to his knees next to him and took the lifeless girl in his arms.

"Why do you care Severus, she was a mate of circumstance," Nott said gently but backed away when Severus turned and growled at him.

Severus looked down at the bruised and bloody girl in his arms and felt as though it were Godric's Hollow all over again. He didn't love this girl like he loved Lily, but he had tried to save her, only to end up being the one responsible for her death. Tears began to slip down his cheeks as he buried his head in her neck smelling, not the familiar scent of Lily, but the smell of Hermione Granger. It was dampened slightly by the scent of blood, urine, and sweat but it was still there. He laid his head on her chest aware that Nott was standing aside staring at him but he didn't care. He had been about to lay the girl back on the ground when a thump caught his attention. He jerked his head up to look around the clearing but he saw nothing. He looked down at the girl in his arms and lowered his head quickly to her chest.

Thump. Thump thump. Thump thump thump thump. 

His head jerked up to stare at the girls face looking for any signs of life and his heart pounded hard in his chest when he saw her eyelid flicker.

"She's alive!" He said to Nott. "We have to get her to Spinner's End."  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
Severus kicked open the door to his family estate and hurried up the stairs as he heard Nott shut the door behind him. He felt the wards ripple as they resealed themselves around the house; he entered the first door on the right and gently set Hermione on the bed before dashing back out to retrieve potions, and hurrying back with an armful of them. He poured potion after potion down her throat pausing only to massage her neck to trigger the swallowing reflex. When he had gotten as many potions into her body as he felt safe with he began the external healing. He dipped his hands in some healing salve and applied it to her body; he had to keep his anger in check as he came across her various wounds. At least Scabbior and Velinus had been killed, he had made sure of that himself; he would still have to deal with the rest of the colony since he was now technically their leader. When he had done as much as he could for the girl he cleaned her gently with a scrap of flannel, instead of risking magic and puting her body in more distress. He covered her up once she was clean and flicked his wand towards the fireplace. A fire burst into life and the room warmed quickly as Severus moved towards the door; looking back only once to see that the girl was resting peacefully before shutting it behind him.

"Thank you Lily, for a second chance," He whispered into the silence before he made his way down the stairs.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Nott was sitting at his table when he entered the kitchen and he felt his anger return at the man's earlier words.

"Severus, I didn't mean the words to be as callous as they sounded." His only response was to growl low in his throat but he sat down at the table nonetheless. "The last thing I heard from you was that she was an insufferable know-it-all that you didn't want in your life. Your exact words were 'I would prefer the giant squid'."

Severus knew he was right but it still nettled him that the man was right. "She is an insufferable know-it-all but that doesn't mean I wish for her death."

"It reminded you of her, didn't it?" Nott questioned him bluntly.

Severus growled again and shot up from the table, he stomped over to the counter to pour himself a healthy splash of whiskey. Nott was his oldest friend, he'd been there longer than most of the other people in his life, and he'd been there since Severus was eleven.

"She's not Lily pup," Nott said firmly. He was the only person that ever called him 'pup'; Severus had asked him back in second year why the boy called him pup and Nott said it was because he looked like a lost puppy, watching for a master. If only they had known that the "master" he was seeking wouldn't be the one he was loyal to.

"I am aware of the differences Nott," Severus growled out.

"Lily left, she broke off a friendship simply because of your slip of tongue." Nott continued on ignoring the other man's aggressive behavior. "You need to give this one a chance, and not a chance that you think you owe to Lily to make life worth living. Let the chit change you, you've been paying penance to Lily Potter for far too damn long."

Severus slammed his tumbler down on the counter sloshing the amber liquid inside it onto the surface. "I'm going to bed," He snarled even though they both knew that he slept around 4 hours a night when the sun first rose.

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	4. Awakening

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The next two weeks showed Severus pouring countless potions down Hermione's throat and spending sleepless days by her bedside. Nott had tried several times to dissuade him but he merely growled at him. After the first 4 days however, Nott came in and disarmed him while he was distracted then bound him before he shoved him roughly into the shower; needless to say by the time he was out Nott was gone. He didn't return for a few days giving Severus time to cool down as well as lose his plots of murder. His efforts were duly noted though because Severus started showering and eating regularly; sleeping only when he passed out cold from exhaustion which he would sleep for 8 plus hours.

When the third week went by Severus started going stir crazy, so he did what he always did in times of stress: brewing and reading. He read all the books he could get his hand on about comas, magical comas, near death comas; and kind of coma there was he had read about it. He brewed every potion he could think of that Hermione could ever possible need even if the only thing ailing her was a paper cut.

After the fourth week went by with no change Severus began to get frustrated; lashing out at anyone who came to call or stopped by. Harry and Ron had long since found out that she was at his house but he had changed his wards to reject their entry. No way was he giving up his privacy and peace of mind to Potter and Weasley.

Before he knew it three months had passed while Hermione was recovering; he continued to give her the potions she needed to heal and made sure she didn't develop bed sores but it was halfheartedly. He would go in in the morning then again at night but no longer stayed all day and all night. Nott had stopped into her room once or twice but mostly kept away from it. He could see the wear on Severus' body the condition of his mate was having but there wasn't anything either of them could do. Most bats marked someone as their mate and then consummated the bond but Severus had not. So his body was growing weak and wearing down, he was more tired and shorter tempered with his condition.

It wasn't until a week into November that anything changed with Hermione; Severus had been cleaning the sheets while she was levitated above the bed when he heard a deep sigh. He looked back at the door expecting to see Nott standing there prepared to persuade him to let it go; to move on. There was no Nott in the door however, and the sigh happened again, it sounded almost as though it was a person learning how to breathe for the first time. As he lowered Hermione back onto the bed he froze when he saw her eyelids flickering. It wasn't like the rapid eye movements he had seen her make before because she was sleeping; it was almost like she was trying to blink but couldn't remember how. As he watched the movements became less rapid and steadier and he sighed in disappointment only to gasp and lean forward when her eyes suddenly opened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione felt herself waking up but had the strange sensation that she was floating, not unpleasant but a bit unnerving. She wondered if perhaps she was dead due to the musty smell she was breathing in but as she felt something rise under her back she dispelled that notion. She tried to open her eyes but her eyelids felt like they had sandpaper on them. She moved her eyes on the inside several times until the dry scratchy receded slightly then she opened her eyes and saw herself looking up at the same ceiling she had seen before. A movement to her right made her jump and try to get away but her body wasn't responding to her brain's commands.

"Miss Granger?" A familiar smooth voice asked her gently and she instantly relaxed. "Can you speak?"

She opened her mouth to respond but no noise came out, struggled to remember how to talk but again her body wouldn't respond to her brains command.

"I'm going to preform Legilimency on you," Snape said and she tried to nod. "Legilimens."

She saw him standing in front of her in a bare white room that he had obviously created. "Can you speak?" 

She opened her mouth to answer and was relieved when her voice said "yes" but cringed at the dry, horrible sound. 

"What do you remember?" Snape asked her. 

"I remember the attack and seeing you and Nott flying towards be but after that it's all a blur." 

She saw Snape frown and she wondered why, forgetting that they were in her mind so he could hear it too. "You've been in a sort of coma for 4 months Miss Granger," He said and her mind was instantly flooded of memories and thoughts; he tried to control it some but her mind was in too much shock to handle it. As suddenly as it had started it stopped and he found himself standing in complete darkness once again. 

Severus pulled himself from Hermione's mind and looked down at the unconscious girl lying in bed. He wondered what she would do once she woke up again.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus walked down the hallway and descended the stairs then through a swinging door to see Nott raiding his cold box. He felt his face start to scowl as he remembered the man's careless words but Nott held his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, okay. I'm an arse; shouldn't have said that your mate wasn't important. Sorry again, quit scowling at me though, you'll wrinkle."

Severus shook his head slightly and felt his anger seep away in spite of himself. "She woke up, but she's not awake anymore." He sat down heavily at his small kitchen table and put his head in his hands. The small interaction with Miss Granger had helped his deteriorating health but he was already feeling the effects of not being able to touch his mate. He felt bile rise in his throat at the thought of what needed to be done between his student and himself, and he once again considered letting himself waste away.

"Don't even think about it," Nott said as he sat down across from Severus. "You're the leader now." Severus knew he was right but it didn't make it any better. "You should go."

Nott watched Severus transform and fly through the open window then headed up to the girls room.

~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione felt like someone was sitting on her chest and she opened her eyes only to shriek and close them again. She blinked a few times to clear her vision and she looked around the room she was in. There was a fire blazing in the fireplace and a chair sitting in front of it that held a man.

"AHHHHH," She screamed as Nott suddenly stood up and walked towards but at her scream he pulled up short.

"Woah, woah. I'm not going to hurt you." Nott shouted over her scream and Hermione quieted instantly.

"Sor—Sorry," Hermione rasped out feeling her throat strain at trying to talk after her scream. She opened her mouth to ask for some water but Nott was already floating a glass towards her. After drinking one, two, three cups of water she began to feel slightly better. "Where's Professor Snape?"

Nott stared at her for a moment with his head cocked to the side in a pensive way, before he started to walk towards her again. She noticed that his steps were deliberate, showing her that he meant no harm. She watched him closely as he summoned the chair over to the side of her bed and set it down; then sat down himself.

"He had to leave." He answered her simply.

"Leave? To go where?" She said in a squeaky voice that made her head throb.

"He had to go deal with some business." Hermione glared at his pointed vagueness but decided to let it go.

"What happened?" She asked and her eyes narrowed when the man immediately shifted uncomfortably. "Tell me."

"I am not certain I am the person to inform you; Severus really should." Nott answered and she was surprised to see a former death eater looking so uncomfortable.

"Okay. What does being a bat's mate mean for me?" Hermione asked.

"You know the answers to that already Miss Granger." Nott said seriously, no longer looking uncertain.

"Do I have to follow everything that he says? Is my life no longer my own because of what he did?" Hermione said feeling herself grow angry despite the throbbing in her temple.

"I am not sure what this means in that regard, I have yet to mark a mate as I don't want one." Nott answered simply.

"Why not?" She inquired.

Nott stared at her in a way that made Hermione want to cry. Of course he didn't want a mate, someone to tie him down and change his life. If professor Snape didn't hate her before he probably did now; she hung her head when she remembered how childish she had behaved before leaving Hogwarts.

"What happened to me?" She urged again.

"I cannot answer that, Sever—"

"Was I raped?" she said bluntly and the trapped look on Nott's face confirmed her fears. Tears welled in her eyes and she turned away from Nott, determined not to behave childishly again.

"Miss Granger, I do not believe you were raped. Nearly, but they did not succeed before we showed up." Nott said quietly and she turned to look at him, she searched his face for any sign of a lie but could find none.

"I'm tired." Hermione said feeling blackness lick at her brain again and Nott nodded.

"I'll watch over you, Severus would want—" but his words were cut off as she let herself fall into the waiting oblivion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus returned back to his house feeling more tired and worn out than he had when he left. He looked in his sitting room expecting to see Nott there but the room was empty so he decided to check the girls' room. He saw his friend sitting in a chair next to the bed passed out and snoring.

"Wake up." He shook Nott's shoulder roughly and waited for the man to wake up.

"She woke again." Nott said sleepily as he stretched his neck.

"For how long?" Severus asked.

"About 30 minutes." Nott replied as they left the room and shut the door. Severus replaced the wards over the room to alert him if she awoke. "She started asking questions Severus, most I didn't answer."

"Most?" Severus asked suspiciously.

"She asked one, if she had been raped, and I answered."

"I told you to tell her nothing Nott," Severus growled out.

"I couldn't—couldn't not answer her. She was so upset; you know how I am with crying females. They're so fragile and terrifying." Nott shuddered.

Severus glared at him but it didn't hold any heat, if he was entirely honesty, he didn't like emotional women either. "She needs to wake up soon; it needs to be completed soon." He felt his head spin and he sat down heavily as a fresh wave of nausea. Why did life have to be so difficult?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	5. Sealed Bond

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Hermione next opened her eyes it was to a darkened room with only the flickering of the fire as light. Her head throbbed painfully as she sat up slowly in the bed she was in and glanced around the room; it was the same one she had been in before but without the chair. Ignoring the pounding in her temples she put her legs over the side of the bed and stood shakily; but once she was standing, she decided this was a very bad idea. A light to her left and running water made her lurch towards what she hoped was the bathroom. Upon reaching the toilet she promptly retched up everything in her stomach then proceeded to dry heave for a few more minutes. As her stomach settled to a queasy mess she leaned back on her legs then sat against the bathing tub behind her.

A noise to her left alerted her to another's presence and she turned her head to see her professor standing in front of a vanity with a sink shaving, the muggle way. Hermione studied the swift confident way he stroked the razor down his face. He hadn't seemed to notice her sitting there and she looked around the room she was in, studying it for the first time. It was then that she realized why he couldn't hear her, there was, what looked like a solid glass wall separating them. She watched in fascination as he continued to shave and found herself surveying the way his forearms moved.

"Like the view?" Came Nott's voice from behind her causing her to jump and shriek in surprise. The man chuckled slightly as he held his hand down for Hermione to grab, once he had a good hold on her hands he hoisted her up.

"I wasn't—" Hermione said, but her words were cut off by the returning nausea and she pushed past Nott just in time to dry heave painfully again. Nott held her hair away from her face; she winced when the man behind her gave a sharp whistle and looked around when she heard footsteps.

"What are you doing out of bed you foolish girl?" Snapped Professor Snape from where he was standing by the door. She saw him shoot Nott a look which had the other man retreating from behind her.

"I was loo—" She said in a hoarse voice, her throat still stinging from the trauma of vomiting.

"I don't care; you shouldn't have gotten out of bed! What happened to you being the brightest—"

"Severus," Nott said in a warning voice from her right and she turned to look at his face. He was wearing an expression very much like the one Albus Dumbledore used to wear. A calm speculating one that also held a warning, one that Snape was obviously going to listen to, though not happily.

"Back to bed." Snape ordered her and the look on his face gave her the good sense not to argue. She hung her head down and walked back to the bed she awoke in, not realizing how exhausted she was until she laid down on the feathered mattress. Snape entered a few seconds later looking, if it were possible, ashamed of himself. He walked over to the bed and conjured a chair before sitting down. "You should not have gotten out of bed."

Hermione scowled slightly but kept silent as he continued. "Your health will not…improve until—until the bond can be sealed. As your health is affected, so too is mine. You know this, as you read every single book about bats you could get your hands on." His voice was firm, sharp as it always was, but it didn't hold the heat, the loathing she was used to.

She swallowed thickly trying to get the lump in her throat to go away. "The book said we—we have to mate, in order for the bond to be sealed and completed."

"Indeed." Came his only reply.

"What happens if we don't sir? Will it just go away?" Hermione asked, hoping for an answer she didn't already know.

"No," Severus said abruptly as he stood to his feet and walked to the window to stare out of it. "No, it will not go away, Miss Granger. You know this already, you're wasting time by asking questions you are already aware of the answer to."

Hermione put her head down and stared at her hands through watery eyes. "When?"

"As soon as possible," Severus responded not turning around. He surveyed the landscape around his home and tried to think of a way out of this.

"Now?" Hermione asked trying to keep her voice steady, to be braver than she felt. She looked out of the corner of her eye to see that he had turned around but his face was in shadow so she couldn't make out his features.

"It would—be most wise." His voice said and she had to swallow back a sob as well as blink rapidly to clear the tears threatening to spill over her eyelids.

"Whenever you're ready sir," She said, her voice betraying the fact that her emotions were not as in her control as she would've liked. She hated the quiver in her voice when she said 'sir'. His footsteps walked closer to the bed and he sat on the edge, handing her a vial of something. "What is—"

"It will make it easier, for us both." He answered her unspoken question with no emotion and she swallowed the contents, wincing slightly as the bitter liquid hit her tongue. The potion settled in her stomach and made her feel hot, like having a very bad fever. A sudden gush of liquid onto her legs made her jump slightly. "Lie back," Snape commanded his voice just as emotionless as it had been before.

Hermione laid back and closed her eyes when she heard him rustle his clothing. She tensed when she felt the mattress near her legs dip down, and even more when she felt his body press against her.

"Relax," Snape said, his breath whispering over her face and she opened her eyes. The room was too dark for her to see his face clearly, but she could see his outline well enough to know he was poised above her looking down. She felt his knee nudge between her legs and she opened them slightly, then more when he placed both his knees between them. A shiver ran up her spine when his hand suddenly grabbed her underside of her knee and placed it up on his waist. She got the point and wrapped her leg around his waist, tensing again when she felt something nudge against her thigh.

She screamed out suddenly as she felt him thrust into her, she felt like her body had been thrown under the cruciotus curse again. She attempted to get away from him, get away from the pain but his body was too heavy.

"Dammit girl, hold still." He barked at her making her freeze. "Why didn't you tell me you were a virgin?" She felt fresh tears well in her eyes at his angry tone but she managed to say "I'm sorry", in a small voice.

"I have to finish this," He said his voice going back to the dead tone it had before. She just nodded her head then let it fall to the side.

She started reciting the ingredients needed in a polyjuice potion to ignore the pain shooting through her. He suddenly shuddered above her and she bit her lip against the agony shooting up her spine, over to her shoulder. The taste of blood made her ease on her lip and a throbbing there told her she had bit clean through her lip.

"It's done," he said stiffly as he pulled out slowly and retreated from the bed. She heard him say something but she merely curled into a ball and let the numb security of sleep take over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus stared at the girl lying on his bed and felt himself shaking. A virgin, she was a virgin and he just went tearing into her like some young bull. He felt sick, dirty, this was worse than anything he had ever done for the Dark Lord. He shook his head, noticing immediately that the throbbing in his temples was no longer present, neither was the overall fatigue he had been feeling. He deserved it of course, but she was suffering as well. She didn't deserve it. He exited the room quietly and walked down the hallway to his study. Once inside he walked over to the mantle and grabbed a bottle of Odgen's finest, neglecting the tumbler sitting beside it completely, instead he brought the bottle to his lips and drank deeply; taking comfort in the burning as the alcohol went down his throat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione opened her eyes the next morning and noticed immediately that she felt better; only to remember what happened the night before. Tears immediately filled her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks as she lay there. She didn't know how long she laid there but she suddenly had no wish to remain in this bed, or in the house for that matter. Getting out of bed she was thankful when no urge to vomit swept over her, she looked around the room but saw nothing for her to wear. Her wand was laying on the bedside table to she grabbed it up and transfigured the dressing gown she had on into a shirt. She saw a nail lying on the floor and with a quick incantation later, she had pants. The pillow case and pillows became socks and shoes. Satisfied with her handy work she walked over to the fireplace in her room and was pleased to see a small jar containing Floo power there.

"The Burrow!" She called clearly as she threw the floo powder into the fire. The last thing she heard was some sort of alarm sounding before she spun out of sight.

She stepped out onto the hard floors of the Burrow's kitchen making the redhaired woman sitting there jump slightly. "Oh Hermione, I have no idea you'd be here today. What did you do to your lip dear? " Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as she hurried towards Hermione. She felt herself being enveloped into a motherly hug and the reassuring smell that she always associated with Molly, made her dissolve into tears and sink to the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What the bloody hell did you do to her?!"

Severus jolted awake as Nott kicked the chair he was sleeping in, a cracking of wood told him that the other man had broken the chair. "What?" Severus asked trying to shake the hung over haze away.

He felt something get thrown onto his lap and he looked down to see blood on the sheets from Miss Granger's bed. "You knew it had to be done!" Severus said defensively.

Nott cuffed him in the head making his headache worse and he growled. "I told you it had to be done, you had to finish it, not bloody tear her apart Severus!"

"She was a virgin," Severus said as he stood up angrily and walked over to his potions cabinet; he threw back a sober up potion, then a headache relief potion. With his brain thinking more clearly now, he frowned and turned to face an annoyed Nott again. "How'd you get those off her bed with her in her bed?" He asked suspiciously.

"Easy, she wasn't in her bed." Nott replied easily. He looked up when nothing but silence echoed around the room.

"I'm going to kill her," Severus said angrily as he walked out of the room, leaving a very confused Nott behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The one thing she liked about Molly Weasley, was that she didn't ask questions. She merely took Hermione in her arms and let her cry, simply stroking her hair. Once she had cried all her tears, Molly got her up, set her at the table then placed a large plate of food on the table in front of her. The aroma of the food hit her nose and she instantly started eating.

"Goodness dear, you act like you haven't eaten in months." The elderly woman observed as she cut vegetables.

Hermione gave a strangled laugh at how very true that was, but she checked herself and slowed down. The mark on her shoulder tingled suddenly causing her to shiver, but she smiled reassuringly at Molly when the woman looked at her questioningly. "Sorry, draft, just got the chills." She received a nod of understanding before she was left to her food. She guessed the plate must have been enchanted to refill automatically because once she ate all of something, the space was filled with something else. Two plates and three goblets of pumpkin juice later she finally felt satisfied and sat back feeling better than she had in months.

"Are any of the others here?" She asked conversationally.

"Oh no dear, they're at Hogwarts most likely." When she received a confused look she continued, "Helping with the repairs to the castle you know."

"Oh right, I think I might head on over there. Can I use your floo?" She asked as she stood, she rubbed her mark absent mindedly as it gave a slightly more painful tingle but smiled at Molly.

"Of course dear, here take this to Harry and Ron; they probably won't stop to eat silly boys." Hermione smiled, thanked Molly for the food then stepped into the fireplace appearing a moment later in the familiar pub, The Three Broomsticks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It didn't take her long to locate Harry and Ron, along with a few other of her classmates that were there working. The castle looked a lot better than when she had left it the last time but it still had a ways to go before it was fit for re-opening the following September.

"Oi Hermione!" Ron yelled at her, she smiled widely when he and Harry ran towards her and enveloped her in a large hug.

"Where ya been we missed you?" Harry said happily hugging her tightly.

"Yeah, you just disappeared," Ron said uncertainly. "Did—did you leave because of me? Because I know I was bang out of order Hermione, I love you, you know I do, but I'm hot headed. All action and no thinking—"

"Ron, I didn't come back to get back together. I meant—I meant what I said before I left." She said firmly and Ron's smile dimmed a little.

"Oh, right. Yeah, that's, well there you are then." He said with sadness tinged in his voice. "We better get back to work, Harry. Hermione, good to—uh, good to see you."

"Yeah Ron, you too," She said sadly as she watched him walk away.

"So you're really not going to marry him?" Harry asked once he was out of earshot. He led the way over to a crumbled wall and sat down. He grabbed the sandwich she handed him and she sat down as well.

"It's not what I want Harry, he's not what I want. I think…I think in the midst of the war, being second from death kind of made us rush into things. Things that—didn't fit both of us," Hermione said firmly looking out over the people working.

"You've changed," Harry said and she looked around to see that he was staring at her.

"Yeah, yeah I guess I have, but haven't we all Harry? I mean, the war, the aftermath, it was bound to change us right? Things couldn't stay the same."

"No, I suppose you're right." He replied still looking at her oddly. "Where've you been?" He asked her bluntly.

"Trying to find my parents," Hermione said, lying easily but feeling fresh tears well in her eyes.

"Ah Hermione, don't cry. You know I hate girls crying, especially you. You didn't find them?" He said in a gentle voice. When she just shook her head and choked on her tears, she felt him pull her into his arms and she buried her face in his neck.

"Hermione?" A familiar female voice asked and she looked around quickly wiping tears away.

"Gin!" Hermione said and she launched herself into the red-heads arms hugging her tightly. The younger woman returned her hug briefly before pulling back and studying her.

"How come this is the first seeing or hearing from you in a long time?" Ginny asked her seriously.

"I'm sorry Gin, that's what I was just saying to Harry, I've been looking for my parents. No luck yet," Hermione said, but this time she had to avoid Ginny's eyes, not being as practiced in lying to the girl as she was with Harry.

"Oh, okay," Ginny said but her voice made it clear that she was unconvinced.

"Yeah, I'm back now though, decided to give it a rest for a bit," Hermione said hoping to shift the focus to something. The look Ginny gave her made it clear she definitely didn't believe her, but she let the subject drop. "So, anything I can help with?" She asked brightly, her mark burned slightly as she walked with Ginny and Harry but after a quick rubbing it stopped.

~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus was furious. He had been trying to get a read on where Hermione was all day long but was unsuccessful. He slammed the door to his potions lab hoping that doing some brewing would help him calm down. As he walked over to his supply cupboard though he noticed that he was out of Jasmine, which meant he had to go to Hogwarts to get into his old stores.

"I'm such an idiot," Severus thought out loud wanting to slap himself. There was only one place she could go that would keep him from picking up where she was. He stormed over to the fireplace and threw some floo powder into the flames bellowing "My quarters!" then he was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione took a break from the rebuilding to sit under a tree and cool off. She opened a bottle of butterbeer and drank the iced drink deeply sighing in relief.

"Can I sit?" A voice said and she looked up into the silver-blue eyes of Draco Malfoy.

"Uhm, sure," Hermione said scooting over.

"No need to sound so uncomfortable, I was an arse during school, but I've had to change since mum and dad went to Azkaban." He said in a slightly bitter voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Hermione said somewhat sincerely.

"Potter tried to put in a good word, but not even 'the boy who lived' could keep them out. I only got away because there was no proof that I killed anyone."

"And did you?" Hermione asked seriously.

"Did I what?" He replied confused.

"Kill anyone?"

"No." Hermione could hear the sincerity in his voice and she decided to let the subject go. "Why'd you come back to rebuild?"

"I don't know repentance I suppose. Why did you?"

"Took a break from finding my parents," Hermione said trying the lie out again.

"The great Hermione Granger lying?" Malfoy smirked.

"I'm not—How did you know?" She inquired at his skeptical look.

"You don't give up, or take a break, ever."

"How is it you know that but Harry and Ron, well maybe not Harry, but Ron bought it?" Hermione mused on a half laugh.

Malfoy leaned closer to her, not touching her, but close nonetheless, and whispered conspiratorially, "Because I'm not a dim-witted idiot."

Hermione threw her head back and laughed good naturedly.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting anything," a smooth baritone said from in front of them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	6. Satisfied

~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione looked up and found herself pinned with Snape's obviously annoyed glare, but when her eyes met his she immediately felt like she'd been set on fire. The hairs on her arms stood up making her skin feel like she'd be electrocuted. She had an inexplicable urge to touch him but she shook her head and dragged her eyes from his as Malfoy's voice cut through her thoughts.

"Uncle Snape, what are you doing here?" Malfoy asked looking questioningly between herself and the older man.

"I needed more Jasmine," he replied shortly and Hermione looked back at him to see his eyes still glued on her. His eyes flickered between her and Malfoy then to the very tiny bit of space that separated them. When his eyes flicked back up to hers, she actually felt the urge to gulp at the angry look there.

"Excuse us Draco, Miss Granger and I have something to discuss." His tone was every bit as commanding and authoritative as it had been the night before, Hermione shivered as it washed over her.

The two of them watched as Malfoy stood, nodded to them then walked away, not looking back once. Once he was out of eyesight as well as earshot, Hermione suddenly found herself being pulled up roughly by her arm then slammed into the tree behind her.

"Ow!" She said indignantly, but shut her mouth quickly when he put his face close to hers.

"What were you doing with him?" He hissed out.

"Just talking, he saw me sitting here and he—" She began but was cut off.

"You are mine, you are my mate, I can tell when someone touches you who isn't me." He said in a low voice.

"He didn't touch me, Harry and Ron—wait-- you can tell if someone touches me?" She asked curiously. "That wasn't in any of the books that I read. Can I tell if someone touches you?"

"No, because I am a born and breed bat, you are merely my mate." He said easing away from her only slightly.

"Well that's wholly unfair, you can go shagging any bloody witch you—" Her words were cut off by the low growl issuing from deep in Snape's throat. It made her heart quicken again and her hair stood at attention. Her eyes widened and she looked into his eyes again, they still held the anger they had previously but now they held heat as well.

"Erm, so erm—" Hermione tried to clear her head but was having difficulty.

"Why did you leave the house?" He asked sharply, completely ignoring her stuttering.

Hermione lowered her gaze from his at last, and looked to his left. "I had to get away, get out of the bed—house."

"So you came here and decided to rub against your boyfriend?" He accused.

"I didn't rub all over him," Her voice was indignant as her annoyance rose at him. "He hugged me, and so did Harry. They haven't seen me in months!"

"Another man will not touch you, I am the only one," He commanded before he released her and turned to walk away.

"Yeah you are the only one you arse; you've made damn sure of that." Hermione threw at his back hotly. He stopped abruptly his body ridged, but he didn't turn around. Tears filled her eyes and her throat got tight as she tried to speak past the lump there.

"You ripped away something that was supposed to be taken out of—of love and someone who actually likes me." She was breathing raggedly as he turned around and walked back to where she was standing.

"It had to be done Miss Granger; otherwise we both would've died." He said in a flat voice.

"Whatever, just leave me alone."

"You are acting ridiculously like a child Miss Granger," His tone was bored and annoyed.

Hermione realized that he clearly had no remorse for his actions, regardless of the pain she had endured in the meantime. She had half a mind to tell him just how badly she ached and how much standing up was killing her, but instead she bit her lip, then winced and released it when she hit the place she had bitten the night before.

"Yes sir, I apologize, it won't happen again." Her voice was void of any emotion and she avoided looking at him, keeping her head down so he couldn't see the tears of pain in her eyes or the blood on her lip.

"See that it doesn't," He said sharply as he turned and walked away back towards the castle. She watched him until he was out of eyesight then she touched the mark on her shoulder immediately shifting into her bat form. Checking that the coast was clear she took off into the air soaring high above the Hogwarts castle watching the people there get smaller till they were mere dots on the earth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The tall building of the burrow came into view and she transformed back into her human form gracelessly, falling to the ground and getting a mouth full of dirt. Tears stung her eyes as she spit out dirt and blood together. She entered the Burrow thankful to find it empty, she walked to the fireplace then grabbed flung some floo powder into the fire and stepped into them disappearing.

She stepped onto the cold floor of her bedroom at Snape's house and immediately ran to the bed, throwing herself upon the blankets to cry. The sound of the door opening made her pick her head up and look over to see Nott staring at her.

"What the hell happened to you?" Nott asked taking in the dirt, blood, and plainly disheveled young girl lying on the bed.

"Professor-bloody-Snape," She snapped at him with a glare.

"How'd you get dirty and bloody?" He asked gently not wanting to upset her, he hated emotional women. They were worse than Voldemort, especially witches.

"I flew away from Hogwarts and then tried to transform in mid-air but I kind of failed." Nott bit his lip to keep from laughing hoping she didn't notice.

"Why is everyone laughing at me today?" She said, obviously he hadn't hid his laughter well enough.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Nott said. "Go take a shower."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione had stood under the water until it had run cold and her fingers resembled prunes. Nott was sitting patiently in a chair when she entered the room again and she gave him a weak smile.

"Let's get your wounds fixed up," he said simply and she nodded as she sat on the edge of the bed. "Tip your head back." She did as he asked and tipped her head back; he looked at the wound on her lip and shook his head.

"When did this happen?"

"Last—" Hermione said but her voice broke. "Last night."

"You bit through your lip last night? Why?" Nott said as when poked her lip with his wand.

"It hurt." Was her simple answer.

"So you bit through your lip?"

"Yes."

"Any damage anywhere else?" he asked almost scared to ask.

Hermione grimaced at him, shrugged, nodded her head then thought better of it and shook her head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus left Hogwarts after searching for her for hours, deciding to try at his home. He walked in the front door and heard voices coming from the girl's bedroom, so he headed up the stairs. The mark he bore on his shoulder that he shared with the girl tingled and he clenched his jaw in anger. He threw open the door to the bedroom and froze at the sight before him.

The pair of them looked at the door to see Snape opening it. He took in the sight before him, Hermione in a towel, Nott hovering over her with his wand out. Nott saw what was forming in his eyes and raised his hands up in a surrender gesture but Severus didn't pay him any mind.

"Get out!" Severus said to Nott.

"Severus it's not, I was just healing her." Nott tried to explain but Severus wasn't listening.

He was looking at the girl sitting on the bed with wide eyes, "I just told you another man was not to touch you, what part of that was hard to understand?" He growled out and he saw her shrink away from him.

"She bit through her lip last night!" Nott yelled, finally catching his attention.

"What?"

"She bit through her lip during your mating session; I was healing it since your head is obviously stuck up your arse." Nott snapped hotly.

Severus felt like he'd been kicked in the gut by his friends words and he looked at the girl on the bed again. She had a bruise under her lower lip that confirmed the story and he tore his gaze from her. "Leave, I'll take care of it." When Nott hesitated, he let out a sound of anger.

Hermione's hair stood on end again when she heard the noise and again felt the urge to touch him. Nott looked back at her, waiting till she nodded before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. She was alone in the room with Snape in just a towel.

Severus looked at her as he walked over to where she sat and took the seat Nott had obviously used to heal her. "Are you alright?" He asked in what he hoped was a gentle voice.

Hermione nodded, then shook her head and the tears she was holding in finally spilled over. His hand reached up to wipe the tears away and she felt her breath catch. The tingling feeling had begun again and she shivered at his touch.

"Why—why do I respond like this to you?" Hermione asked him. She met his eyes and felt her stomach tighten, the urge to touch him almost making her give in.

"Because you're my mate, and I am yours. It is part of the bond," Severus answered.

"Why don't you respond to me?" She asked trying not to sound like a child.

Severus almost laughed but kept quiet, she couldn't know that looking into her honeyed brown eyes made his heart freeze and his body respond to her. Touching her made the hair on his body raise up; made him want to push her against the nearest surface and claim her as his own over and over again. Self-loathing coursed through him at these thoughts and his face twisted into a sneer.

"Because I am not some hormonal adolescent," He said harshly.

Hermione looked down away from him and felt her face flush red in embarrassment. "Yes sir," was her only response.

"Are you injured anywhere else?"

Hermione shook her head but at his noise of impatience, she nodded slowly still not looking at him.

"Where?" He asked annoyed.

Her eyes met his again and his breath caught in his throat, of course she'd be hurting there, how could he be so stupid. He had only acted like a bull on with his first heifer, surely she'd be sore and in pain.

"Lie back," He forced out past the tightening in his throat, and when her gaze shot to his with wide eyes, he explained, "I need to make sure there's not any lasting damage."

Hermione nodded but stayed where she was staring at him. No one had ever looked down there, not even those muggle doctors her mum insisted on taking her to. No one had ever even been near there except for those men a few months ago and then him.

"Miss Granger, lie back," He said with more force in his voice. His heart was pounding in his chest, the animal part of his consciousness urging him to just take her; to lay her down on the bed and take what was rightfully his. The thought and image of that made his trousers grow uncomfortably tight.

Hermione watched as his eyes went from the cold black depths she was used to, to a heated coal black that made her heart beat quickly. Her eyes latched on to his and time seemed to stop, the two of them staring at each other, the only noise in the room was their combined ragged breath. She reached out to grab him only to have him pull her roughly onto his lap and crash his lips into hers. It was a battle of dominance as he forced her mouth open with his and the growled into her mouth when he tasted her for the first time. The sound and feel of his noise made her stomach tighten and she pressed closer to him.

Severus was trying to get himself under control, but the bat in him, the one that demanded him to take his mate was overpowering him. She felt too good, tasted too good, and he wanted her too bad. He reached down and ripped the towel from her body then threw it across the room.

Hermione pressed her now naked body against his still clothed chest and whimpered at the friction, she could feel something hard pressed against her inner thigh and she shift slight so that she could rub against it. A low sound echoed from the man in her arms and he tore his lips from hers only to kiss down her jaw. She tipped her head back to give him easier access and shivered when he reached her neck.

Severus breathed in the smell of her neck, an intoxicating scent that made his mouth water. He pulled his lips back from his sharpened canines and he bit down lightly into her skin, he felt her buck against him.

She felt his teeth sink into her skin and the exquisite pain made her want more, she wanted more contact, more…she didn't know more of what but she wanted more.

"Please—" He heard her whimper and whatever battle he had been having with the bat side of him was quickly silenced. He picked her up and laid her back on the bed, holding his weight above her and he looked down at her.

She returned his heated gaze and didn't see her professor, the ex-death eater, she saw a man. A vital man that drove her crazy with lust, one that would give her the more she needed. Her hands reached up and began to unbutton his shirt but he swiped her hands away. Instead she felt him slide his hand down her stomach and onto the spot that was throbbing for him. She whimpered again when his fingers brushed against her, making her throb even more painfully.

Severus almost wanted to shout his triumph when he felt the copious wetness that coated his fingers as he parted her folds. Her musk reached his nose and he felt himself let out a sound of approval, he undid his belt and unbuttoned his pants then pushed them down freeing his erection.

Hermione looked up into his eyes then down to where his hands where and felt a thrill of fear go up her spine when she saw his penis straining towards her. Her fear must have shown on her face because he leaned down and claimed her lips in a scorching kiss. Like the night before she felt something blunt press against her thigh but this time she shifted slight and felt it brush against her swollen sex. The sensation made her bite down on his lip and was surprised to taste blood in her mouth. She jerked her head back to look at his lip and saw two puncture marks where she'd bit him. Before she could open her mouth to apologize he was kissing her forcefully again.

Severus almost felt himself cum when she bit his lip, but the look of confusion and terror on her face when she pulled back told him that she hadn't read everything about bats. He seized her lips again, bit gently on her lower lip and allowed their blood to mix. Her blood hit his system and made him feel dizzy; from the way she grabbed ahold of his shirt told him she felt it too. He reached down and positioned his sex against the entrance of hers and pushed forward gently.

Hermione's back arched as he pushed into her, both from the stinging pain as well as the pleasure racing up and down her spine. He rocked his hips a few times to allow her to adjust to him and the stinging slowly receded. His thrusts soon gained more depth but still kept at the same gentle rhythm until her hips were raised of their own accord.

He tried to keep his pace slow but her body was pulling him in deeper, when her hips started meeting his he picked up his pace. He clenched his teeth against the urge to cum right then but he wanted to show her that it could be different.

She felt his hand reach down between them and he started rubbing something down there that made lights pop in front of her eyes. Her stomach tightened then contracted, and her breathing was shallow; she was chasing something, something she didn't know. She felt him hit some secret spot inside her and her world exploded into tiny glittering lights. She tried to grab on to him, to keep her body from blowing away into the atmosphere.

Her body clenched around him and he felt his own body react, her hands came up to grasp his sides and the pain of her nails in his ribs made him dissolve. He pulled his lips back from his fangs and bit into the skin of her shoulder; his hips jerked once more and he emptied himself into her body. The sweet taste of her blood added to the pleasure of his release and it seemed to last forever. Her nails were still in his sides and a tickling sensation told him that she had drawn blood, not that he cared. He pried his jaw open and released her shoulder, then licked it wound making it stop bleeding immediately.

She blinked a few times to clear her vision and noticed a white light coming from his body. He leaned up and looked into her face and she gasped when she saw that his eyes were no longer the dark blacks she was used to but a bright shining red. But even as she stared at them the slowly began to return to their normal black.

"Why—why are we glowing?" She asked with a scratchy voice and she felt him withdraw from her, but he didn't move from his position over her.

"The bond has been satisfied," He said, his own voice raspy.

"But—I thought we did that last night." She said confused.

"That night sealed the bond, but the mating won't be complete until we share blood." He explained as he rolled to her side and onto his back, his chest heaving.

Hermione ran her tongue over her teeth but they had returned to the normal dullness. "Why did I have sharp teeth if I'm merely the recipient of the mating?"

"You have to be able to puncture my skin. I thought you read all of this," His tone wasn't heated or annoyed, it merely sounded tired.

"I did, I mean not about this part but everything Hogwarts had on the subject," She had to cover her mouth as she gave a huge yawn and she felt her eyelids grow heavy.

"Come, sleep. We'll sleep for a while," He said and she nodded as she lay down on her side facing away from her. He curled around her and she felt her body grow heavy as she slipped into a deep sleep; the sound of his breathing soothing her into a dreamless sleep.


	7. Broken Down

~~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione stretched the next morning feeling refreshed and relaxed but the feel of a body next to hers made her freeze. She slowly turned her head and saw the black head and back of her ex-professor, she shook her head at those thoughts. "Probably should call him my mate..." A growling noise sounded from her stomach and she realized she felt like she hadn't eaten in months. Slowly and quietly getting out of bed she grabbed her clothes and rushed to the bathroom. The sight of the shower made her want to take one so she dropped her clothes and turned the water on; she waited for it to reach the temperature she wanted before stepping under the stream.

~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus jolted awake from his nightmare and it took him a moment to get his bearings. He looked next to him at the empty bed and scowled. It was still warm so she must have just recently left; running water told him she was in the shower and his scowl lessened slightly. What now? What was he supposed to say to her? Was she expecting a ballad of how much he loved her? He snorted at the disgusting thought of doing that. He didn't love her, hell, he barely liked her; but as his mate there were things that had to be done. He looked up as she exited the bathroom her hair still wet from her shower.

"Oh, good morning," she said uncertainly, like she wasn't expecting him to be awake. "I hope I didn't wake you."

"No," He said simply.

"Right, that's good." She said as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "Um—"

"I do hope you're not expecting anything from me." He said bluntly.

"Pardon?" She froze in her movements and looked up at him, her expression unreadable.

"I hope you don't expect anything from last night. I was merely making sure that the bond was completed since it was a disaster the first time." His voice was blunt and he was actually surprised that she kept her face perfectly clear of emotion.

"Of course not sir, I would never expect you to care." She said and he was shocked by the venom in her voice. Her face may have been calm but her voice betrayed what she was feeling.

"Is that all Professor? Or would you like to set up a time and date for the next time you'd like to use me? Say next Friday, 4 o'clock?" The words were meant sarcastically but he felt a twinge of hurt at them.

"Miss Granger—"

"I have better things to do than sit here and argue with you. Good day sir." She walked over to the fireplace and grabbed some floo powder.

"Miss Granger—" He said again as he got out of bed, completely ignoring the fact that he was stark naked. She turned around and her eyes widened before they slide over his body taking it in. "You are acting remarkable childish."

He watched her eyes flash before she turned and threw the floor powder into the flames, she said "The Burrow". She glanced back at him, "You know Professor, you always seem to throw about that I am childish but here's a question for you: what does that make you? Fucking a child."

Severus felt himself actually take a step back at her verbal blow but she was gone before he could rally. He walked over to the fireplace as the flames turned from green back to red and he slammed his fist against the mantle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione stepped out onto the floor in the Burrow's kitchen for the second time in two days. This time though the kitchen held Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, George, Ron, Bill, Ginny, Harry, Fleur, and Angelina.

"My, this is a pleasant surprise," Mrs. Weasley said with a smile and a motherly hug. Everyone said their hello's then the boys left to go play quidditch in the yard.

"Hermione, I have something I want to show you in my room," Ginny said pointedly to her. Hermione nodded and followed the younger girl up the stairs. They walked into Ginny's room and she shut the door, then warded it.

"What's up Gin?" Hermione asked.

"Where have you been?" Ginny asked.

"I told you—"

"Don't feed me that, you've lost weight, you look really tired, and where did you get the bite marks on your neck?" Ginny accused pointing her finger at Hermione's shoulder.

Hermione felt her face pale and knew that she would have to tell Ginny something, it might as well be the truth. "Alright Gin, sit down. This is going to take a while."

~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus floo'd into the Headmistresses office and brushed the soot off his robes.

"Good to see you Severus," a familiar voice said from somewhere in the room. Severus looked up into the portrait of Albus Dumbledore that had been painted only two weeks after the man's demise.

"Albus," He replied nodding in greeting. He didn't get to comment more as Minerva McGonagall walked into the office at that moment.

"Severus, I'm glad you could come at such short notice," Minerva said as she walked to the desk and sat down. "I'm afraid I have to ask for your help."

"Are you truly asking Minerva or is it merely a nicety?" He responded good naturedly as he walked to a window to his left and looked out over the familiar grounds.

Minerva studied the man standing before her, and had a flashback of the very same man standing at that very same window nearly 20 years previously. He had come to talk to herself and Albus about switching sides; wanting out of the death eaters, proclaiming his love for Lily Potter.

"I am asking Severus, if you decline then I was accept it; perhaps not happily but I will respect your decision." Severus turned from the window to look at the woman and he leaned his head to the side in an action that told her he was listening.

"Hogwarts needs to be rebuilt, it's coming along, but we only have a few people able to commit. Many of the students are doing what they can but, with the exception of Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy, not many of them are able to do the type of magic needed to restore the castle. We need more powerful adults, you, for one."

Severus leaned against the window frame and contemplated the offer. It wasn't as though he had any brewing to do or anything else besides leading the bat pack, but still, being surrounded by children didn't seem attractive.

"Minerva, you know how I despise children," He commented and he saw the woman's face fell and mentally swore, oh how he hated disappointing her. "What was the other thing?"

"The school is opening in September, which is in only a few months' time. I have still yet to find a potions master of your skill and dedication."

"You want me to come back and teach?" Severus asked, he wasn't exactly surprised but hadn't thought about coming back at all.

"I am." Minerva said honestly.

"I will think about it, and give you my answer to both requests in a week's time." He said formally and waited until she nodded before he left through the floo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wow." Ginny said as Hermione finished her story. "Wow. I—Wow."

"Yes you've said that," Hermione said annoyed.

"I'm sorry but—WOW."

"Yes, yes it's astonishing, now can you please say something besides 'wow'?"

"And he didn't kill you when you said that?"

"I didn't give him a chance, I left mere seconds afterwards, otherwise I would've been a crisp." Hermione said on a smile.

"The dungeon bat, actually a bat, who would've thought the nicknames were right. Does he sleep upside down hanging from the ceiling?"

They burst into giggles at the image her question brought up but a knock at the door made them stop.

"Yeah?" Ginny called and Harry stepped into the room.

"What's so funny?" He asked as he flopped down of the bed next to Ginny.

"Oh just girl talk," Ginny said at the same time Hermione said "nothing".

Hermione saw him look between the two of them but breathed a sigh of relief when he simply shrugged.

"Are you staying for dinner Hermione?" Harry asked her and she bit her lip.

"Oh you must, please!" Ginny begged her folding her hands under her chin playfully.

Hermione laughed at the younger girl's antics but nodded all the same.

"Alright, I'll go let Mrs. Weasley know," He said standing up, he kissed Ginny on the head and left the room.

Hermione watched their interaction and felt the urge to cry. She wanted that, she wanted a guy that loved her completely, someone to kiss her forehead and care for her. But no, she was stuck with a man that despised her for the better part of 7 years and only was putting up with her now due to saving her life.

"I think I'm going to go to Hogwarts, see how the rebuilding is doing." Hermione said trying to keep her sadness from her voice. Ginny looked at her strangely for a moment but nodded her head.

Hermione walked down the stairs and out of the Burrow after promising she'd be back in time for dinner, and then she spun on the spot and let herself disappear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione was wandering around the parts of the castle that had remained standing letting various memories wash over her. She smiled through tears as she walked by the bathroom the troll had found her in, where she and the boys' friendship began. More tears as she walked by parts of the castle that had been destroyed by the final battle. She rounded a corner and walked into a solid body but was caught by her elbows before she could hit the ground.

"Hey Hermione," She looked up to see Malfoy standing before her and she gave him a watery smile.

"Hello Malfoy," She replied quickly wiping her eyes and nose.

"I think you can call me Draco, why were you crying?" He asked sounding genuinely interested.

"Oh just old memories you know, it's silly." She answered and the two of them continued walking back the way he had come.

"What're you doing here?" He asked taking the hint and picking a new subject.

"I came to see how the re-building was coming, but I could find anyone."

"Oh, yeah everyone is out by the greenhouses. They got pretty trampled by the giants." He said hesitantly. It was odd to think that the same guy who was walking next to her was the same boy who had fought against her.

They walked out of the castle and down the courtyard towards the greenhouses. She could hear laughter and people talking as they neared them and felt her mood lift despite herself. That was until she saw the black robes of the person she had run away from earlier.

"What is it?" Draco asked when she abruptly stopped walking.

"I, um, just remember something that I forgot to do, somewhere that isn't here." She said her eyes flicking between Draco and Snape.

Draco followed her gaze to where it was resting on Severus and felt his curiosity pique. "What's going on between you and my uncle?" He asked slowly.

"What? Nothing, of course. I just remembered—"

"Something you forgot to do. Right." He said and Hermione could tell he didn't believe her. "I'm just going to go for a walk in the forest."

"Well you're not going alone, it's dangerous," He said and Hermione hesitated before she nodded slightly.

"Alright." The two of them turned back around and walked towards the forest, oblivious to the black eyes that followed them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had been walking for around a half hour talking about their lives after the war when they were suddenly stopped by a male Centaur.

"You should not be in the forest," he said in a deep voice. "It is not safe, even with the dark one gone."

"We were just taking a walk," Draco said firmly his superior tone already coming back.

"It is unsafe human, you must leave."

"Why is it unsafe?" Hermione asked curiously. "I thought all the dangers were gone with Voldemort." She heard Draco hiss from next to her but ignored him.

"There are still dangers lurking in the forest young one," The Centaur replied before he turned to walk away. "Go back to safety."

"Come on, let's just go." Hermione said suddenly feeling uneasy about being so deep in the forest.

They had just turned around when two people stepped into their path. Hermione froze immediately and felt herself start to panic as she recognized the two people.

"You should've listened to the centaur love, there are dangers in here." Lucius Malfoy said in a raspy voice.

"Dad?" Draco asked. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you in Azkaban?"

"I would have thought you'd be happy to see your father Draco, hanging out with mudbloods making you soft?" Lucius said and the man to his left laughed.

Hermione felt herself start to panic, what was she thinking? Coming into the forest with Malfoy, she could slap herself. She tried to get her wand without drawing too much attention to herself but Lucius quickly summoned it from her.

"Ah, ah, ah. I'll take that." Lucius said.

Draco suddenly grabbed her hand and began to run in the opposite direction. "Hermione, let's go!" He screamed at her but her feet wouldn't respond to her fear frozen brain. "Move!" He shouted at her again and the panic in his voice made her jump into action.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus watched as Draco and Hermione walked away and felt anger boil hot in his gut but he turned away to finish his task. He had agreed to help Minerva with the task for today, because it wasn't hard and he had nothing better to do. He had just been rebuilding a wall when his mark burned hot and he felt panic slice through him. The panic had nothing to do with the emotion he was feeling, but it stamped out the anger coursing through his body instantly. He transformed immediately and took off into the sky, allowing his bat senses to take over. He soared towards the scent of his mate trying to keep the anger at smelling Draco's scent so close to her. His heart froze when he saw that the scent disappeared into the forbidden forest but flew faster. When he flew over them he noticed that they were running from something, but he couldn't see what so he dipped lower.

Draco was dragging Hermione behind him and shouting at her to run, he hadn't seen Draco looking so panicked since the night he was supposed to kill Dumbledore. Hermione finally responded to his urging and started running after him. Her mark was tingling on her shoulder; it felt like someone was stabbing needles into it.

Suddenly she wasn't running anymore, but rather she was standing, and not just standing but she was standing and looking up at the pale blonde face of Lucius Malfoy as he ran past her. She stumbled backwards over her feet only to realize that she was much closer to the ground than was normal. Looking around she saw that she had transformed, she tried to move her wings to get her airborne but a sharp pain shot up her arm. She looked at her wing to see that it was pressed into the earth; obviously Lucius had stepped on it when he ran past. She was a sitting duck, or rather, a bat.

She scanned the trees for a low branch and saw movement in the corner of her eye. A flash of white flew above the trees and her heart leapt into her throat.

"Snape!" She tried to yell but a screech came out instead. "Snape!" She tried again, but the same screech escaped from her mouth. She tried to move her wing again wincing through the pain and managed to get it free from the wet dirt. There was a tree near her so she slowly hopped over to a trunk, dragging her wing, and tried to blend in with the ground around it. She prayed that Snape would find her before it was dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus flew over Draco and Lucius until Lucius finally gave up and disapparated away. He flew down in front of Draco and transformed smoothly landing in front of the panting boy.

"AHHHH!" Draco screamed then shut his mouth quickly. "Bloody hell, don't do that!"

"Where's Miss Granger?" Severus asked urgently.

"I don't know, one minute she was running next to me and the next minute she was gone. I don't know where she went. You don't think they got her do you?" Draco asked panic lacing his voice.

Severus just shook his head and took off back through the forest on the path Draco had just run. He could hear Draco trying to keep up behind him but he was too focused on finding his mate to slow down. The pair of them ran all the way back to the entrance to the forest with no sign of Hermione, and that made him worry.

"Draco, go back to the greenhouses. I have to go find help." Severus said quickly preparing to transform again.

"Why are you so worried about her? You hate her," Draco said with a sneer on his face.

"She's my mate," Severus said shortly and transformed before Draco could respond.

"Shit, that's not good." Draco said as he walked slowly back to the greenhouses.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione was worried, no, actually she was scared. She had been trying for the last hour to return to her human form but it wasn't working. The sky was darkening and that meant that night was coming, the forbidden forest was dangerous during the day, but it was even more so at night.

She heard a bush rustling to her right and she froze, barely breathing as she listened. Her heart was pounding rapidly and she was afraid to blink in case it was danger. She hunkered down completely when a man suddenly stepped into the clearing near here. She didn't recognize him but he appeared to be looking for someone. The man started towards where she was laying and she watched him with huge eyes. When he bent down to pick her up she tried to get away from him, she sunk her teeth into his pinkie, the smallest finger she could reach. But he just chuckled, and that made her even more afraid. She tried to get out of his hands but he simply held her firmly.

"Calm yourself little one, I will not hurt you." His voice was deep and Hermione stop struggling to get away. "That's it, calm down," The man said again and started humming.

She didn't recognize the song but she felt herself grow sleepy. Her eyelids drooped against her will and she shook her head to wake herself up.

"No! Where are you taking me?" She screamed at him but the horrible screech was all that came out.

"Shush now, you'll be safe soon." The man said, and she was helpless against him as he carried her through the forest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	8. Challenge

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione tried to make herself as small as possible in the man's hands that was carrying him and tried several times to get out of his hold but she was unsuccessful each time. Every time she would try the man would chuckle and tell her to stay calm, that she was safe.

"Yeah, right." Hermione thought to herself. She perked her head up to look around but couldn't see anything familiar.

"Hold tight little lady, we're disapparating," The man's deep voice said. She tried one last time to get away before the squeezing sensation of apparition took over.

When she was able to breathe again she looked around again and saw that the man and herself were standing in a group of people, none she recognized.

"Did anyone find her?" A familiar baritone voice said causing everyone to fall silent immediately.

The man holding her stepped forward and held her out in his palm. She looked around and saw the familiar face of her mate; she let out a screech of relief and jumped from the man's hand only to remember her wing was broken. She felt a warm hand catch her quickly and felt her body shift; she blinked and in the next second was sitting on the ground staring up at Snape.

She looked at herself and was grateful to see arms instead of wings, hands instead of claws, and skin instead of feathers.

"Finally," She said with a smile and glanced at Snape; the look on her face made her smile slide from her face. He walked over to her and held his hand out; she hesitated but the commanding look on his face made her put her hand on her good arm in his. She was pulled up swiftly and firmly pulled against his body. Her body immediately responded to his close proximity and she felt her cheeks flush when he slid her wand into her back pocket.

"Thank you for your help in looking for and retrieving my mate," Snape said from next to her and he waited until almost all the people had disappeared through either apparition or transforming. Only Nott remained and he walked up to the pair of them.

"Home?" Nott asked. Snape nodded but she stepped away and shook her head.

"I'm supposed to go to dinner at the Weasley's," She said firmly.

"You've missed dinner; it's nearly 11 at night." Snape said.

"Then I should go explain, and apologize." She said stepping away from him.

"You will come home with me," He said, the commanding tone back in his voice.

"No. These people are important to me, they are the only—the only family I have," Hermione said thickly through the emotion swelling in her throat.

"You only want to go back to that boy," Snape said stepping forward towards her.

"Jealousy isn't a good color on you my dear mate," She said on a sneer that matched his. She was gone before he could reply.

"Sex between you two must be fun," Nott commented jokingly, if looks could kill he'd be ash from the look Severus shot him. The pair of them disapparated with a 'pop' that echoed through the woods.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione appeared in front of the Burrow and she could see the occupants sitting in the kitchen laughing and talking. She entered the front door and the house suddenly went deadly silent.

"Hello?" She called out and Ron, Harry, and Mrs. Weasley came out to greet her. "I'm sorry I'm so late, I was helping at Hogwarts."

"Oh that's alright dear," Mrs. Weasley responded leading them all back into the house.

"Erm—Mrs. Weasley, can you heal my arm for me?" Hermione asked quietly as Harry and Ron walked back to the table to sit down.

"What happened?" The older woman asked.

"Oh, I'm just a klutz, you know." Hermione waved her hand. She clenched her teeth when the older woman tapped her wrist with her wand and she heard the grinding of the bones mending. "Thank you."

Mrs. Weasley waved her thanks away and smiled reassuringly. Hermione joined the Weasley's at the dinner table and looked around at her family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione woke up the next morning with a kink in her neck, and felt the gentle rise and fall of a chest. She jerked upright and looked next to her to see that she had been sleeping on Ron's chest; Harry and Ginny were next to them on the living room floor. A feeling of dread settled into her stomach as she stood and walked over to the fireplace. Had Snape been able to feel her touching another person all night? She floo'd to Snape's house and stepped into the sitting room. Nott was sitting there reading a book, he looked up when he heard the fire flare, and simply pointed up the stairs where she could hear things being thrown around.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus was in his study trying to keep his mind off the burning that was radiating from his mark. He knew he should have stopped her from going; knew that he'd be kept up all night when she decided to fall back into bed with her little boyfriend. "Why do you even care? You don't like her." He asked himself. 'I don't like her. She's an insufferable brat.' He answered himself and felt his face curl into his familiar sneer. No, he didn't care about the bushy haired brat, nor did he care if she wanted to shag the entire countryside. He just didn't want to have to deal with it, but unfortunately, he had to because she was his mate now. She was forever linked to him whether either of them liked it or not.

He heard footsteps approach the door to his study and the door opened but he didn't turn around. "Nott, go away. I'm not in the mood."

"Erm—sir?" The temper that he had worked on getting down flared up inside him along with his desire, but he pushed the desire part aside and turned to face the girl.

"All done shagging your ex?" He shot at her viciously and he felt satisfied at the red spots that appeared on her cheeks.

"We weren't shagging—" Hermione began but his sarcastic laughter cut her sentence off.

"Right, so the burning from my mark was imagined hm? How about the fact that you smell like another man?" He shot at her, his anger radiating from him in waves.

"I fell asleep on Ron," Hermione tried again but she could tell it didn't matter. "Why do you even care? You don't even like me!"

This was obviously the wrong thing to say because he stormed over to her and grabbed her upper arms tightly in his large hands.

"I care because you are my mate—mine! That means that I alone have the right to touch you," He said, his words were accompanied with him shaking her gently.

"Yet you don't like me! You are the one that told me not to expect anything from you, but I'm not allowed to seek comfort and love elsewhere?" Hermione shot back, shoving him from her.

"You believe that that boy can give you what I cannot? You believe that you will respond to that boy the way you respond to me? Just remember, Miss Granger, I was there first." Severus snarled at her.

SLAP.

Hermione was shaking from her anger and fear; he was standing with his head to the side and a bright handprint already appearing on his cheek. "How dare you? How dare you think that you—you own me just because of this? This is entirely your fault and you don't even have the decency to try to build a friendship with me. You just take, you take what you want and once you've had it you cast me aside. I am not one of your potions for you to use and then leave."

"I don't want a friendship with you! I don't want you at all!" His scathing remark made her shrink away from him. Tears welled in her eyes again and she struggled to stay standing, as his words ripped right through her chest.

"Then why did you save me?" She asked him in a quiet voice.

"Excuse me?"

"Why did you save me? Why not just let Greyback have me?" She said louder, all the questions that had been floating around her head finally streaming out. "Why bother at all?" She stared at him for a moment before she turned on her heel and exited the room. A few seconds later he heard the door to the room she'd been occupying slam shut; a ripple ran through the house meaning that she had put up wards.

Severus was stunned into silence at her questions, why had he done it? He kicked the door to his study shut with his foot and the echoing noise in the silence helped the way he was feeling. He grabbed his whiskey and tumbler from his liquor cabinet and sat down in his chair. He thought back to that night and what had been going through his mind, what his line of thought had been.

++++FLASHBACK+++++

He'd been running across the battle field when he had seen Hermione strike down a death eater; he was impressed. She was probably one of the very few that he had enjoyed teaching. She had fired hexes at him and they hit his shield with surprising ferocity. She looked like hell, thinner and more ragged than he had ever seen her. She had a look in her eyes that made her look older than 17; it made her look hard, ridged. She seemed to recognize him because she stopped trying to curse him and lowered her wand; she had her head tilted, studying him, as though he were a particularly hard potion she was trying to solve. Suddenly he was reminded of the eleven year old girl that had tried so hard to gain his approval, to gain everyone's approval. But here, before him, was a woman that did not need to prove herself. She knew her power; she knew that she was capable, she was confident in herself; she was a polar opposite to her younger self. Movement behind her made him flick his eyes away from her, and he felt fear shoot through his body at the sight of the vicious werewolf standing behind her. He knew what he had to do, what he would do, before Nott had said anything but did he really want that responsibility? Could he really handle taking away her chance of true love and happiness by binding her to him? She was young, too young to understand fully what it meant to be his mate. She'd be targeted by others that hated him, whether the Dark Lord won or not. His feet were moving before his mind fully told him too, he acted on instinct. The instinct to protect, to guard and save; he felt his hand grab her throat, cutting off some of her air supply. He could smell her, she smelled like dirt, and burning wood, a faint wisp of vanilla wafted to his nose and he found himself breathing deeply. His eyes never left the werewolf as he lowered his mouth to the space between her neck and her shoulder, where he knew the skin would be softest. He pulled his lip over his emerging canines, the anticipation of blood already making his mouth water, his bat toxin seeping from his glands. He tricked himself into thinking he cared for her, wanted her forever, and he bit down, her skin tasted salty from sweat. He whispered to her, telling her it was the only way, he sunk his teeth into her skin and her blood was sweet as it poured into his mouth, she was struggling against his hold but with a quick tightening on her throat she stopped. He pulled away and tried to get her to resume her breathing, she needed to breathe. Once she started to breathe, he had to turn his attention back to the werewolf, now screaming about his betrayal. The girl fell to the ground and Nott was next to her in a second, picking her up and taking her straight to the castle. He felt a pang of something as he watched the man touch her, cradle her again his chest, carry her away but he couldn't think about that; he had a werewolf to kill. 

+++++END FLASHBACK+++++

"Ah, shit." Severus said to himself. He had chosen this, he had chosen to take her, make her his mate and he had been raised better than this. His parents had taught him that his mate was to be treasured, cherished, and with respect. But he didn't treasure or cherish the little know-it-all; he respected her only because she stood up to him. Could he learn to like her? The thought was unbearable to think about, but he had to. The way his body responded when she was near, was it just because she was his mate? When she had slapped, he had wanted nothing more than to hold her against the door and show her just who she was dealing with. His thoughts turned to their second coupling and his heart rate picked up; the way she responded to him, the way she felt, the absolute bliss he had felt when her blood had mixed with his. He'd never been in this position, Lily was special and he loved her, but he had never wanted to mark her; to make her his. He'd never wanted to mark any of the other people who had come across his path that needed saving; why her? What was so damn special about her that his bat instincts had won over his brain?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione slammed the door to her bedroom and threw up every ward she knew to keep him out. She sat down on the bed and let the tears she had held back fall over her lower lids. He didn't like her, he didn't even want her, probably didn't even care that she was alive. Why did he turn her? Why did he try to find her when she was lost in the woods? She snorted at this thought, probably so he wouldn't have to deal with the crap he'd catch.

She felt her wards shimmer and the door to her room opened; she picked her wand up and pointed it at the person entering the room but lowered it when she saw it was Nott. Making sure he didn't see her tears she acted like she was fixing her bed as he entered the room and sat down in a chair.

"You heard?" She asked, proud that her voice didn't waver.

"It's kind of hard to ignore loud voices, especially with heightened senses," He responded.

"He hates me," she sat down on the bed and played with the hem of her shirt.

"No, he doesn't."

"He acts like it! Why? What did I do wrong?"

Nott stared at her and felt his heart hurt for her, she was so messed up over a man she was nowhere near understanding. "You did nothing, not you, someone long ago, but not you."

"You were there during the battle," Hermione said, "Why didn't you turn me? Why did you mark me?"

Nott saw the reasoning behind her questions but wasn't sure how to answer.

"Is there something so wrong with me that no one wants me?" Hermione felt tears well in her eyes again and felt the bed dip as Nott sat next to her.

"I was not meant to be your mate," Nott said as he put his finger under her chin and forced her to look at her. She felt more tears fall even as he wiped the tears on her face away. "I was not meant to mark you as my own, you weren't meant for me."

"But he was? Someone who hates me so deeply?"

"You do not really believe that," Nott said and Hermione knew that he was right. She didn't believe that he hated her.

"What do I do? How do I even talk to him, or be around him?"

"What do you feel?" Nott commented before he got up and left the room.

Hermione stared at the door after he exited and thought about his question, what did she feel?

++++FLASHBACK+++++

She was sitting in front of Nott as he prepared to heal her lip, footsteps made her look around and she saw Snape enter the room. Her body became aware of him almost instantly, he looked foreboding, intimidating, but at the same time safe. The anger that flashed in his eyes at seeing Nott and herself in such a close intimate proximity made her want to curl up and hide. His commanding tone made her hair stand on end, her nerve endings feeling alive and sparked. She was hyperaware of being alone in the room with Snape when Nott shut the door; wearing only a towel. Shock ran through her body as he sat down in front of her and acted concerned. He touched her cheek to wipe away her tears and her body sparked, caught fire. She looked into the black depths of his eyes and she felt like she was suddenly drowning. Her heart was pounding in her throat as their eyes met and she wanted nothing more than for him to climb into his lap; to touch him. Then she was against his chest, straddling his lap, touching him, and it was wonderful, amazing. When he pulled the towel away and she saw the desire burning in his eyes she was lost; she'd do anything for him. 

+++++END FLACSHBACK+++++

She gasped as she realized the difference; the difference between Nott and him. Nott had just touched her, wiped her tears away but it had been like Ron or Harry doing it. When Snape had done it she had wanted more, wanted him, her skin was on fire from just his touch. She was struck with an idea, it was risky and it would take all of her guts to do it but she would do it. She stripped her clothes off quickly and quietly, and then wrapped a towel around her; she opened her door and looked up and down the hallway checking for anyone. The walk from her room to his study was a very short distance, and her heart was beating in her chest. She stopped outside his door to gather herself and then stepped through; he was standing looking out of one of the windows. He turned when he heard the door shut and froze when he saw her.

"What is it?" He said sharply, looking her over, the fire in his eyes blazing once again when his eyes met hers.

Hermione walked towards him deliberately, slowly, not taking her eyes from him once; she stopped 2 feet in front of him and dropped her towel revealing her naked body underneath.

"Prove that you don't want me." She challenged and she celebrated on the inside when his eyes widened in shock: and fear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus felt his mouth go dry as Hermione dropped the towel, and his brain stopped functioning when she challenged him.

"Prove you don't want me." He heard her say; but he was trying to keep his brain clear.

"What?" He said hoping to buy time.

"You said earlier that you didn't want me," Hermione said as she stepped away from the towel lying on the floor and over to his desk. "Can you prove that?"

"How do you expect me to prove it?" Severus inquired, impressed that he wasn't responding to the bat part of him that was screaming at him to take her.

Hermione cocked her head to the side thinking, and then walked up to stand in front of him. "If I touch you, what with you do?" She questioned as she put her hands against his chest. She almost smirked when she felt his heart hammering under her hands.

"You are my student Miss Granger, this is inappropriate." Severus tried to deter her but she merely laughed.

"I am not any less your student today than I was two days ago, Professor."

"I would do nothing, as I said, I do not want you." Severus barked at her but his body wasn't listening.

Hermione run her hands down the front of his outer jacket, feeling his body quiver as she passed over the muscles. She stared into his eyes as she boldly reached down and ran a single fingertip along the semi-hardness that had already formed in his trousers. He hardened further as she continued to stroke him softly, with nothing more than her forefinger. She could feel him throbbing under her finger, now fully hardened and straining for more contact.

"Well, if you're sure then," Hermione said calmly, stepping away from him and letting her hand squeeze him once.

Severus was clenching his jaw so tightly he was sure that he would crack a tooth, he was hard and ready to take her up again his desk. He watched her body in appreciation as she walked away from him, and almost groaned out loud when she bent straight over to retrieve her towel; putting her perfect arse up in the air.

Hermione wrapped her towel back around her and glanced back at him to see that he was standing ridged, clenching both his fists as well as his jaw.

She walked over to the door and opened it, "Perhaps I will see if Nott wants me." She had barely gotten these words out of her mouth before a large hand was placed on the door and slammed it shut. He turned her around roughly and pushed her up against the door.

"You will not allow another man to touch you." Severus said leaning over her slight frame. His heart was beating in his throat, his mind foggy with jealousy and lust.

Hermione looked up into his eyes and her body erupted in the fire it always did when she met his eyes. "But why sir? If you will not touch me, why should I be punished?" She kept her voice light with an innocent air.

"Because you are mine! You are my mate, I am the only one allowed to touch you." He snarled at her angrily.

His heart froze when she suddenly leaned up and nipped his ear whispering, "Why don't you prove it?" His restraint broke completely, any arguments he'd previously be had was swallowed by anger and lust; the furious urge to prove to her that she was his, only his.

Hermione gasped as he suddenly slammed her back against the door and his lips descended on hers in a bruising kiss. His tongue forced its way into her mouth and warred with hers. Her arms found their way around his neck and she pressed her body flush up against his. He grabbed her hips and lifted her, pressing her against the door to continue their kiss, she tangled her hands with his hair tugging gently and received a growl in response. He turned and walked back over to his desk and she jumped slightly when he put her naked bottom on the cold surface but had no time to complain before his hands were on her.

Severus let instinct take over once again, too tired and too far gone to fight it anymore. Her body was soft, pliant, and more willing than he'd ever had anyone. He dragged his lips from her to kiss a burning trail across her jaw and down her throat. He pressed a kiss to the spot on her neck where her pulse was racing, her life's blood flowing so smoothly through her veins.

Hermione tipped her head back as he kissed down her neck and paused over her pulse, sending delighted shivers down her spine. She arched her back when he lowered his mouth onto her breast, sucking and nipping her areola and teasing the beaded tip of her nipple. He worshipped her left breast and then her right, staying at them long enough that she was certain that she would die from the sheer bliss of the feel of his mouth on her.

This was the difference; this had to be the difference she thought vaguely as he continued his assault on her chest. She'd had her breasts touched before but she'd never felt so on fire, so sexually charged than when he did it. Was this because of their mate status or simply because she was meant for him. Her hands reached up and undid the buttons on his frock coat, and then the shirt underneath. His hands beat her to his trousers and he slid them down, releasing his straining erection into the room and making Hermione's desire increase.

Her thoughts were cut off abruptly as she felt his hand slide down her stomach to the trimmed curls nestled between her thighs. Her hips thrust towards his hand as his fingers parted her folds seeking out the warm wetness that awaited him. Severus groaned his appreciation to find her wet and ready for him; only for him. She was his dammit, and he would prove it; he would prove that he was the only one that could make her feel. He knelt quickly and ignored her protests as she realized his intent.

"No, don't—" Hermione said feebly but when his eyes flicked up to meet hers a new gush of liquid and desire coated her, making her arguments quickly end. She watched him closely and intently as he stared at her; but his fingers parted her lips. His eyes finally left her, releasing her from their scorching gaze to look upon her most private place; spread wide by his fingers for his appraisal.

Severus could smell her musk and his mouth watered; how badly he wanted to taste her, taste her nectar. But he stalled sensing her hesitation to the thought of this type of pleasure; he kissed her thighs allowing his hands to drop away from her nether lips. He felt her slowly relax as he lavished her thighs with opened mouthed kisses and caresses. He turned his attention back to his goal though when she had finally relaxed, fully allowing her legs to fall open. His tongue flicked out to taste her desire slicked crease and his erection throbbed painfully at her noise of appreciation.

Hermione was shocked at the feelings that were dancing through her body; desire and embarrassment mixed together meeting and making her head spin. Her head fell back as he started gently sucking on her clit, only to slide his tongue down and press his tongue into her entrance. She felt him hum against her and her hips bucked in answer. She felt her body tighten, her stomach was a raging fire as she neared her release but he stood up; denied her.

"What—" She began to ask but his mouth on hers cut her question short.

Severus put the blunt edge of his weeping penis against her entrance, he pushed in gently only to retreat and slide it up to caress her clit momentarily before starting over.

"Who is allowed to touch you?" He demanded his voice husky from his desire and absolute need to slam into her body; to fill her with his seed.

"What?" Hermione said blankly through her desire, she was panting with the need to orgasm but he denied her still.

"Who is allowed to touch you?" Severus reiterated firmly, he pressed the head of his penis into her extremely wet sex, stopping after only an inch and letting his thumbs touch her clit in a feather light touch.

"Please—" Hermione begged, his teasing becoming more than she could bear.

"Answer me!" His voice harsh from the struggle he was having at keeping his body from giving in. "Who is allowed to touch you? Who is your mate?"

Hermione's stubborn nature perked its head up and she shook her head at him. "Anyone I choose."

Severus growled in frustration and brought his mouth to her shoulder and bit down without warning. Her blood flowed into her mouth and he withdrew his sex from herself completely; he grabbed her hips in his hands in a bruising gripe as he drank from her freely.

Hermione's brain fogged over completely as she felt him bite into the crease between her shoulder and her neck; re-opening the mark that had been there since the battle – when he had first marked her. Memories flew by of the last few months, him biting her on the battlefield, the way her heart had pounded, beating against her ribcage as his venom spread through her limbs. Their first mating session, the pain of having her virginity taken roughly, without any prelude; their second mating session, the way her heart had hammered against her throat as his blood at rushed into her system. The pleasure and desire she felt for him anytime that she was near him, the feeling of belonging that spread through her system when their eyes met. She was gasping for air, his teeth still sunk deep into the freshly opened mark; she could tell her wasn't drinking, but was tasting, and reminding her. She felt her teeth sharpen and knew what she was supposed to do; she knew if she did this she would never look or touch another man without thinking of him.

"Yours, I'm yours," She said, her voice lisped slightly as she tried to talk over her new teeth.

Severus growled his triumph and released his hold on her shoulder; prepared to give them what they both wanted but he froze as she sunk her teeth into her chest. His mind and body erupted in white-hot fire as she took her blood into her mouth. He looked down to see her latched on his pectoral muscle and his penis throbbed painfully at the sight.

She pulled back and looked up at him, her lips strained red with his blood, "And you are mine."

He grabbed her hips in his hand and dragged her so that her butt was barely on the desk; he guided his tip to her entrance and slammed into her making light pop up in front of his eyes. Hermione shattered instantly as he caught her clit with his pelvis and her heart felt like it stopped beating then took off again.

Severus had to clench his teeth again as her walls clenched around him repeatedly; he released her hips and ran his thumb across her clit roughly, feeling her tighten again around him.

"When you look at another man, think about this. No one will ever make you feel this way, Hermione, no one." He said seriously never breaking his strokes.

Hearing her name on his lips, in his voice shoved her over the edge and her brain fogged over completely. His thrusts became irregular until he stiffened and let out a groan; she could feel his seed shooting hot and deep inside her and clenched her muscles around him making him shudder again. He slid out of her gently but clutched her to him. Hermione ached, her muscles sore and abused but the sated feeling spreading through her limbs made her smile.

Severus looked down at her and stole her lips in a gentle kiss, soothing the swollen skin. Their kiss was interrupted by the door banging open to reveal a heaving Nott.

"Oh damn," He said quickly as he took in their compromise position and he quickly turned around. "Shit, I'm sorry. Someone is here to talk to you Severus."

Hermione was confused by the tone of Nott's voice, and the look she caught on Snape's face before his mask slipped back into place.

"Get dressed," Snape said is a sharp tone, as he pulled on his own clothing. "I have some business to deal with."

Hermione frowned at his tone but slid off the desk as soon as the door was shut behind them. She grabbed the towel she had worn to the study and a quill laying on the desk; transfiguring both into a pair of pants and shirt. Once she was dressed she quietly exited the room and headed to the room she stayed in but a female voice caught her attention. She carefully walked to the edge of the balcony and looked down in time to see a woman attach herself to Severus and pull him into a kiss. Fury burned hot in her stomach even as her mark burned hot on her shoulder. She turned from the balcony and ran back to her room; she shut the door behind her and looked around the room. The hair on her body was standing straight up as she tried to keep control over her magic but she was losing her battle. She summoned her belongings to her and with a quick spell erased any trace that she had been there; a moment later she was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus had known as soon as Nott had entered the room that something was wrong. Then he had said that someone needed to see him and his blissful aftermath erupted with a bucket of cold dread in his gut. He'd hoped that this wouldn't happen but apparently, that was a dead hope.

"Leighanna, what are you doing here?" He asked the woman standing in his foyer, with a cold frost in his voice which she ignored. She threw herself at him and latched onto his mouth with a ferocity that would put a leech to shame. He pushed her away from him with a snarl and wiped his mouth off; a burning through his gut made his blood run cold. A wave of magic swept through the house and his eyes met Nott's both thinking the same thing: Hermione.

"I thought you'd be happy to see me Severus, you've always been so willing before," the woman said.

"I've picked a mate," Severus said bluntly, hoping to cut through the heavy sexual offer radiating off her.

"Excuse me? You said—you said you would never take a mate," She snarled at him, her sweet nature suddenly gone.

"Things change Leighanna, people change." He said on a shrug.

"Who is it? Someone from your little gang?" She threw at him, her annoyance and anger flowing from her.

"It is not your place to know, you need to leave," Severus said firmly. His tone not leaving room for argument; her wand flew to her wand in an instant but Severus was already pointing his at her throat before her had even left her pocket.

" ." He commanded and her eyes flashed.

"You haven't seen the last of me Severus Snape," she threw at him before she turned on the spot and disappeared.

Nott and Severus stared at each other until another burning wave in the pit of his stomach made him speak.

"Hermione—" They took off up the stairs two at a time and burst into her room only to find it empty and any trace of the girl gone. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit."

"You didn't warn her?!" Nott snarled at him.

"I haven't exactly been able to get past the rutting urge to mate with her on every surface to talk much; we just barely made headway today." Severus snarled back at him; the alpha tone coming out in his voice making the other man retreat. Severus took a deep breath and calmed himself down. Nott watched his eyes turn from the bright red they had flashed when his friend had reasserted his alpha status, to his normal black.

"I apologize old friend; I am still trying to learn this whole thing." Severus said.

"And people wonder why I will never take a mate," Nott said trying to lighten the mood.

"You say that now," Severus said. "Come on, we've a girl to go find, and I have a mate strangle."

"She doesn't understand Severus, you cannot hold it against her," Nott said.

"Yes, but my hands around her throat will make me feel better."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione apparated in front of the London International Airport and walked up to the ticket counter, "One flight to Australia, please."


	9. Long Return

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A brunette woman was sitting at her writing desk in her room when a tapping on her window pulled her from her work. She looked up to see an owl perched on the windowsill holding a letter in its; as soon as the window was open the owl flew inside, dropped the letter on her desk, and flew back out again. The woman stared at the letter but ignored it and turned back to her work. That letter could wait; the letter she was working on now however could not. Her hand flowed across the paper easily in a tiny cursive she had always used. The only sound in the room was the scratching of her quill on the parchment and the occasional silence as she dipped the tip into her ink. Her eyes flicked towards the letter many more times before she had finished her missive but she ignored the pull of curiosity. Finally, once the parchment was full and the letter was written, she tapped in with her finger and watched it roll itself up then seal.

She looked at the Hogwarts crest on the envelope and her hands shook a bit when she turned it over to read the contents.

Dear Miss Hermione J. Granger,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to the new term starting 1 September at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is a list of supplies you will be required to bring along with your class schedule. 

Hope to see then,

Minerva McGonagall

Headmaster of Hogwarts School 

Hermione knew it was coming, she knew that this letter would find her here, even when other people could not. She leaned back and stretched the neck muscles that had cramped from sitting in the chair for so long reading over her work. Four months. Four months since she had left London, four months since she had seen her mate attached to some woman, four months since she had been without him. She felt her face twist into a sneer as she thought back over the scene that had made her leave. Anger and resentment made her stomach burn so she turned her thoughts away from that day. He had tried to find her of course, but she was used to living on the run, she was a pro in living under the radar. Standing up and stretching she rubbed her shoulder where she knew her mark still was, it had tingled almost constantly for the last four months, only when she slept did she forget about it. The tingling reconfirmed her thoughts about what he was doing. Probably shagging whoever that woman was senseless, she thought bitterly.

She looked around the room she was in and with a wave of her hand all of her possessions were packed in her trunk. She had come to Australia in hopes of finding her parents and find them she had, but unfortunately it had not been what she wanted to find. A pop later and she was gone, leaving the room she was in untouched; when the squeezing of apparition released she found herself in front of a wrought iron gate. It creaked as she pushed it forward scaring some birds nearby into taking flight; she walked down a familiar trail past trees and others shrubs until she found what she was looking for.

Here lies Wendell Wilkins

Beloved Husband

Monica Wilkins

Beloved Wife

Her knees hit the ground as tears flooded her eyes as they had only a month ago when she finally had found where her parents were. It had taken some digging to discover that they had died in a flash fire one Christmas Evening only 9 months before. Her mother had been expecting a baby at that time, quite a shock to the expecting couple according to those they had known. The funeral had been a small intimate affair as they had not made a lot of friends in the 18 months they had resided in Australia.

Hermione sat there staring at the graves where her parents lay long after her knees had gone numb and the tears had dried on her face. Then pushing herself to her feet she looked down at the markers once more before turning on the spot and disapparating.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione looked up at the newly rebuilt Hogwarts castle with some trepidation. A letter from McGonagall had asked her to stop by her office before she headed to the Burrow to let the Weasley's know she was back. The familiar smell of the castle hit her as soon as she opened the front doors and for the first time in ages, she had the sense that she was really home. She walked the familiar path to the headmistresses office taking in the parts of the castle that had been rebuilt. She knocked lightly on the door and waited until she was told to enter before stepping into the room.

"Ah, Miss Granger," McGonagall's voice said as she crossed the room. "How are you?"

"I'm well, Professor, thank you." Hermione answered politely as she walked over to one of the windows and looked out over the grounds.

"I'm sure you are wondering why I have asked you to come here," the older woman asked and Hermione turned around to look at her. She looked older, more aged than the last time she had seen her. "I was wondering if you would be willing to be Head Girl this year, you will get your own quarters and won't have as many restrictions as the other students." Hermione opened her mouth to answer but the office door opening and a deep voice cut her off.

"Minerva, why does it appear that all of my storage room items have been moved?" Hermione's heart stopped beating then took off again as Snape stalked into the room, a black scowl on his face. He didn't appear to notice her presence and Hermione was frozen to the spot watching him. She felt her body begin to shake from the effort of keeping herself rooted to the spot and a burning pain erupted across her shoulder.

Snape must have been experiencing something of the same because his eyes suddenly surveyed the office, finally coming to rest on her. She saw fury and desire flare in his eyes mutually and his face shifted into a sneer.

"Miss Granger, what a surprise," She resisted the urge to flinch at the coldness that had seeped into his voice.

"Professor Snape," Hermione said dropping her eyes from his. Her heart hurt, remembering the betrayal that had taken place months before, and the pain in her shoulder was enough to make her cry out. She heard Snape sniff dismissively at her refusal to give him attention, but she heard him turn his back to her to continue to talk to McGonagall. "Erm, Professor McGonagall, I think I'll come back at a later time. Send an owl, it will find me." She kept her eyes and her head lowered as she walked from the room, each step she took away from him made her shoulder throb.

As soon as she stepped off the spiral staircase behind the Gargoyle she broke into a run, she hadn't run like this since she had left four months ago; only this time she heard the sound of footfalls behind her. A hand closed around her arm abruptly and spun her around into a wall and she looked up into the angry face of Severus Snape.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

 

Hermione looked up into the furious face of Severus Snape and felt her own anger rise up to meet his.

"Let go of me, sir," She said mindful of his authority in this place.

"Why are you here?" He snarled at her, his anger flowing from him like lava from a erupted volcano.

"I was asked here by the headmistress."

"Why did you come back?" He asked still not releasing her.

"Why do you care you arse, shouldn't you be sucking face with you little girlfriend or whoever she was?" Hermione threw at him and she felt triumphant when shame flickered in his eyes. "Not so high and mighty now are you?" She yanked away from him and picked invisible lint from her sleeve.

"People have said that you are the brightest witch of your age, very clearly they were mistaken." Snape sneered at her as he stepped away then turned his back on her and began to walk away.

"People have said that you are a very great man, loyal and faithful to those you care about, very clearly they were mistaken," Hermione said throwing his words back at him and walked by him when he stopped harshly.

"Is that your opinion of me?" The pain in her voice made her stop and turn back to him. He was staring at her with cold black eyes, no anger, no desire, just a cold dead look that made her heart freeze up.

"I—" Her words were cut off as he abruptly walked up to her and gripped her arms in a bruising hold.

"Is that your opinion of me Miss Granger?" He shot at her again; the dead look replaced with anger once more. "You think that I betrayed you? That I have been having a great time with other women these last four months?"

"Haven't you? Or are you going to pull the age old 'she kissed me'?" She said back in response to his questions.

"You know nothing you foolish brat," He released her again and walked around her, and up the corridor. She watched him till he was out of sight before she allowed tears to well in her eyes again.

"Well, at least he isn't calling me a child anymore," she claimed out loud with a dry attempt at humor. She continued to walk through the castle and out onto the grounds towards the apparition point oblivious to the black eyes that followed her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus watched her leave the grounds and felt anger course through his system at her words. How dare she think that he had been having a fine vacation shagging countless women while she was merlin know where doing merlin knows what. He scowled and shifted his stance slightly to try and relieve the pressure his trousers were putting on his semi-hard erection. Desire had been coursing through his body since he had seen her in McGonagall's office; he'd almost stumbled over to her and taken her against the window ledge but no, that wouldn't do. She had left, without as much as a goodbye.

'She thought you were using her' a tiny voice in his head said but he ignored it. Maybe he was using her, he certainly didn't like the chit and she very clearly didn't like him. It was better this way; she was his student, nothing more. Her status as his mate meant nothing to him, to hell with what his mother had tried to teach him. Women were despicable creatures that used and manipulated men for their own ends then tossed them away without so much as a backwards glance. No, he would ignore her and once school started she would once again be under his authority as his student.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione appeared in the yard next to the burrow and saw Harry, Ron, Ginny, and George flying through the air on brooms.

"Hermione!" Harry and Ron called down to her and flew towards her, dismounting smoothly and enclosing her in a hug.

"Where've you been?" Harry asked her immediately and she felt fresh tears spring to her eyes. She threw herself into his arm and wept into his chest, oblivious to the confused look on his and Ron's face. "What's happened Hermione? What's wrong?" He asked softly as she continued to cry.

"I-I went to Australia, and-and I found my par—parents." She managed to choke out and she felt Ron pull her hair away from her face.

"Well then why the water works?" Harry asked her, his voice told her he was slightly uncomfortable with her crying on him; probably more to the fact that men hated crying women, than the fact that it was her crying.

"They—they died!" Hermione wailed and felt Harry's arms wrap around her tighter.

"Oh, 'Mione, I'm sorry."

"I'll go tell mum," Ron said, clearly wanting to give them some time alone. She heard him say something to someone but didn't catch what it was or who he spoke to.

Harry held her until her tears dried, the two of them now orphans and virtually without any family other than those that had adopted them. She pulled away from him slightly and wiped her nose on her sleeve, before she looked around the yard.

"You know I'll always be here Hermione, I'll be your family." Harry whispered to her and she gave him a watery smile.

"Thanks Harry," She said as they walked into the house. She was pulled into Mrs. Weasley's motherly embrace and she fell apart again. Each person took turns giving her their sympathies and telling her that she would always be part of their family.

As she laid down for bed that night, her thoughts turned back to her black haired professor, and she wondered if the Weasley's would still think of her as family if they ever found out she was Snape's mate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

September 1st arrived with wind and rain, the weather very clearly echoed her mood as she prepared to board the Hogwarts Express with Ginny. Ginny was kissing Harry and saying teary goodbyes to him as they would not be returning with them. Dread had filled her stomach since she had woke up that morning, and it simply increased as 11 o'clock got closer and closer.

She watched the landscape fly by the window and thought of what she would have to deal with upon her arrival back at Hogwarts. Mentally scolding herself for even being concerned about him she turned her thoughts back to the conversation Ginny and Luna were having.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus buttoned up the numerous buttons on his frock coat taking comfort from the familiar tight fabric across his body. His fingers worked quickly and nimbly though it took no thought for him to do so. He would see her tonight of course, sitting at the table with the rest of his students; she was nothing but another student. The burning in his shoulder had not receded since he had seen her the previous day, and he knew that it would only get worse as time went on. The four months away from her had been hell, he'd felt like a hole had been missing from himself. Now she was back, and his anger had been the easiest emotion to draw on. It was best just to treat her like every other student in his care; nothing more, nothing less.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione kept her eyes down as she walked into the great hall and bit her lip against the flare across her shoulder. She wondered, not for the first time, if she would ever stop being so sensitive to him. She sat down next to Ginny facing away from the staff table and tried to focus on the sorting.

Severus tried to keep his eyes from finding her, tried to ignore her presence in the hall, but he felt his gaze shift to her. She looked thinner, he allowed himself to realize, her face most gaunt and her smile forced. His shoulder throbbed again and he wondered, not for the first time, if he would ever stop being so sensitive to her. His curiosity was piqued at what she had done when she left, where she had gone, and why she looked so lifeless.

They both sat through the sorting and ate very little thought no one noticed their mutual and equal lifelessness.

Hermione watched Snape stand and walk out of the hall, but was unable to follow due to her Head Girl duties. She rounded all the younger students up and took them up to Gryffindor tower; she wondered if she had looked as stunned, shocked, and afraid as they did on her first night there. The students returning from the previous year that had seen the damage were looking around and taking in the rebuilt castle. They were more reserved and quiet than she had ever seen any students; further proof that the battle as well as the fall of Voldemort had taken its toll on all. Once she had fulfilled her head girl duties she slipped back out of the castle and willed herself to shift into her bat form. She had been unable to do it in the months since she'd left Snape and she had half a mind to ask the man himself why it was but a voice behind her took the option out of her hands.

"Miss Granger, it is after hours," Snape's voice said behind her and she turned from the wall she was standing next to.

"I am head girl Professor," She responded wearily and she turned her back to him to look out over the grounds again.

"That does not give you special privileges to be out of the castle after hours," his tone wasn't as bitter as it had been the night before but it was just as cold.

Hermione sighed and shook her head slightly as she continued to look out over the grounds and ignore the man standing behind her. What was the point of arguing with him? What was the point of even trying to explain herself? Why should she explain why she had run, when he had clearly been enjoying her absence?

"Get back in the castle Miss Granger," His voice cut across her thoughts and she turned her head around to stare at him. He was standing around ten feet from her with his hands clenched at his sides and she could almost feel the bitterness flowing from him. She pushed away from the battlements and walked back to the castle; she breathed deeply as she walked past him and the pain in her shoulder intensified.

"Yes Professor," She said as she passed him and wanted to smack herself when her voice waivered.

"Is there a problem Miss Granger?" She heard him ask from behind her.

"Yes." She replied simply.

"And whatever is wrong with the Gryffindor know-it-all?" His words sliced through her chest and she turned to look at him. Her eyes meeting his for the first time and she felt her hopelessness reach a new peak.

"Everything," Hermione said softly as she turned back around and continued on her walk back into the castle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus stared after Hermione long after she had left feeling confused as well as frustrated. The lack of hope in her voice had made him pause, had closed up his throat and made him want to go after her. He had stayed where he was however only by leaning against the pillar behind him. This was not the woman that had left months ago; this was not the same girl that had stood in front of him naked with a fiery challenge in her eyes. He took the spot she had vacated and looked out over the grounds, how he wanted to hate her. How badly he wanted to say that he didn't care what she did or what had happened while she was gone; but there would be no truth in that at all. He scowled out at the grounds before he followed her tracks back into the castle and scolded himself not to care.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione didn't sleep well that night, the pain in her heart as well as her shoulder making it impossible to sleep. She cried herself hoarse over the thought of not having a mother to talk to about her problems; her mother would never see her graduate Hogwarts. Her mother would never know her grandchildren, her mother wouldn't be there to help her plan her wedding, if indeed she ever had one. When Hermione finally fell asleep it was with tears drying on her face and a soul-deep pain in her chest that she had grown used to.

The next morning dawned sunny and warm but Hermione didn't pay attention to it. She covered up the dark circles under her eyes and pulled her hair into a low ponytail letting the curls flow down her back. While she waited for Ginny by the Fat Lady's portrait hole she looked over her class schedule; she snorted with amusement, she would have potions right after breakfast wouldn't she? Ginny walked out and she gave the redhead a forced smile.

"You don't have to do that," Ginny said gently and Hermione looked at her with a confused look on her face. "Fake that you're happy, I know you aren't. You've changed since you got back, is it just your parents or is there something else?"

Hermione stared at the younger girl in bewilderment before answering. "No, just my parents, I—I miss them." She tried to keep tears from falling from her eyes but she was unable to stop the sob that escaped her throat as Ginny pulled her into a tight hug.

"I can't even imagine Hermione, I am so sorry," Ginny said as Hermione cried against her shoulder. They stayed that way standing in the hall until the noise of students filling the corridor made them pull away.

Hermione quickly wiped her eyes and nose; but she knew that her eyes were red and puffy. "Thanks Gin, it's just been hard." Ginny nodded understandingly and they allowed themselves to be swept with the other students into the great hall.

The two girls sat down next to each other, this time facing the staff table, and began to fill their plates with food. Hermione felt eyes on her and she looked up into the eyes of Severus Snape. He was looking at her intently, not in anger or annoyance, but rather like she was a particularly hard puzzle he was trying to figure out. She lowered her eyes away from his swiftly then told Ginny she was going to go to the loo; she left the hall quickly and headed for the potions classroom slowing her pace down considerably.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus followed her soon after she left the great hall, curious as to why she was crying or had been crying. He found her leaning against the wall next to his classroom and she jerked her head up to look at him when she heard his footsteps.

"Miss Granger, why are you outside my classroom?" He asked firmly coming to a stop in front of her. She had lowered her eyes as well as her head when she'd seen that it was him coming towards her.

"This is my first class, sir."

"I am well aware that it is your first class, Miss Gramger, but why are you here at this time?" He repeated.

"I don't know," She answered him quietly and he felt himself grow irritated.

"You were crying this morning, why?" He said changing course.

Hermione was surprised at his question but shrugged, "I don't know sir."

"How interesting, I have never known you to not know something." He commented blandly.

"That could be because you do not know me Snape," She said, her voice bitingly cold.

"Watch your tone Miss Granger, I am your professor." He warned feeling his anger well in his gut again.

Hermione rolled her eyes and ignored him, choosing to stare at the opposite wall. He continued to stand there and was taken aback when she raised her eyes suddenly to meet his and he saw tears in them.

"What would you like me to do sir?" She asked him in a small quivering voice.

"I beg your pardon?"

"What would you like me to do? You hate me, you hate who I am, and yet you seek me out to have little chats." She spat at him, tears spilling over the rims of her eyes and down her cheeks.

"I do not hate you," He said quietly but students walking up the corridor made him step away from her and open his classroom door.

Hermione wiped her face quickly, and felt her face burn with embarrassment as well as anger; she walked by her professor and raised her eyes to his again. "You bloody well could have fooled me."

"5 points from Gryffindor for your language Miss Granger," He hissed at her as her classmates filed in after her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione barely listened as he launched into his lecture and was the last person to collect her ingredients to start her potion. She mixed her potion quietly without really paying attention to where he was in the room and jumped when his voice suddenly came from behind her.

"You have 10 minutes," He called over the classroom.

Hermione looked down at her potion with a scowl as it began to bubble and spurt out purple slime. She had jumped and accidentally dropped too much Lacewing into her cauldron. She backed away from her cauldron as the slime flowed over the side and onto the floor.

"Evinesco," She said quietly and the mess disappeared, her body bumped into someone and she looked up into the angry black eyes of her professor.

"Miss Granger, do not assume that you can clean your mess with magic!" He roared and she stumbled away from him shaking. "50 points from Gryffindor and detention tonight, 8 pm."

Hermione glared at his back as he walked away from her and continued on his way around the room. She threw herself down at her table and scowled at him for the rest of the class until his voice rang out in the silence.

"Bottle your potions and take them up to my desk; do not clean you work stations. Miss Granger will have that happy task tonight in her detention." His silky voice said and she felt herself grow angrier. As the students began to file out of the classroom she grabbed her bag and began to leave the room only to be called back.

"Miss Granger," Snape said. She growled in frustration but turned back to face him. He was standing by his desk staring at her. "Was your potion too hard?" He asked as he walked towards her.

"No sir," Hermione hissed out through clenched teeth.

"Were your ingredients wrong?" He inquired again and she ground her teeth together at his sarcastic tone.

"No, sir."

"Then why did your potion explode?" He probed as he came to stop five feet from her.

"Because I accidentally added too much lacewing," She had to try to keep her voice from shaking. His proximity as well as her anger was making her quake.

"You what?" He pressed.

"I added to much lacewing, sir. Can I go professor; you are not the only class I have to attend today?" She asked flippantly and had to stop herself from smirking when his eyes flashed with anger.

"A further 10 points from Gryffindor Miss Granger, for your cheek." He hissed to her anger clear in his voice.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to exit the room but a hand on her arm stopped her. She looked down at it and then up at him, before she raised an eyebrow. "Yes professor?"

She glanced up into his eyes and saw the desire pooled there, he opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off abruptly, "You might want to be careful sir, I'm a student after all, and I'm quite certain there are rules against touching students." He jerked his hand away from her arm and she smirked then left the room. Her mood improved slightly as she heard him growl in anger and frustration behind her.


	10. Truths

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione walked down to her detention with a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach, she was sure he was pissed, and now she was going to be under his authority in a detention. She knocked on his door and waited for him to bid her to enter before she pushed the door opened and walked into the room.

He was sitting at his desk writing quickly over a piece of parchment and he didn't look up as she walked to his desk. She waited patiently as he continued to write and surveyed him with interest. His handwriting was fluid and graceful, much like the man himself, it flowed across the sheet easily. He wrote for another five minutes before he put the quill aside and finally looked up at her.

"You know what to do," He said briskly, his eyes darting over to the pile of cauldrons waiting for her. She held his gaze when it flicked back to her before she tilted her head to the side in acknowledgement.

She walked over to the cauldrons and pulled her hair into a high bun on the top of her head; she rolled up her sleeves and set to work. The task was not terribly taxing so her mind was able to wonder aimlessly, coming to rest on the situation she had found herself in. She never thought that she'd have to deal with losing her parents; she had hidden them away for this very reason. A fire though, wasn't something she could control, wasn't something she had anticipated. What if she hadn't been a witch? Would she be dead now as well? What if she had gone to them sooner, hadn't gone with Harry and Ron, would they still be alive? Was that something that she could've done? No, she thought, she couldn't have abandoned her best friends; they had needed her.

She'd been so lost in her thoughts she hadn't noticed Snape walking over to her until she heard her name being called.

"Miss Granger!"

"What?" She said hotly, annoyed that her pondering had been interrupted. "What professor?" She asked less harshly when she remembered where she was.

"I think perhaps that cauldron is clean enough, you've been scrubbing it for 20 minutes." He said roughly.

"You came all the way over here, interrupted my thoughts, simply so you could berate the way I'm washing the cauldrons you sent me as punishment?" She tested incredulously.

"Yes—" He began.

"Do you have nothing better to do than to pick on me?" She shot at him hotly.

"What is your problem?" He hissed at her as he closed the distance between them.

"What's my problem? WHAT'S MY PROBLEM?" She shouted at him. "What a loaded bloody question! What is my problem, let's see, the guy that I'm forever tied to hates me, he spent the months I was away from him shagging some dumb bimbo senseless, my parents are dead, and I HATE YOU!" She screamed, her voice so loud that her throat hurt by the time she was done. "You have the audacity to ask me what is wrong; YOU are what's wrong Severus Snape. You are your—your stupid stupidness!" She felt tears well in her eyes and spill over onto her cheeks burning a path down her face. "I trusted you!"

She stood there staring at him as she shook from the force of her release of emotions and just wanted to curl into a ball. Her head swam painfully as she looked into his eyes and she sank to her knees with a sob. Arms wrapped around her and she instantly turned into his chest as well as hitting her fists against him. His arms tightened around her until there was no more room to hit him, so she just started saying she hated him over and over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus held her in his arms until her struggles stopped and her chant of hating him was over. He thought she had fallen asleep until she began to pull away from him. He lowered his head looking into her eyes and his heart squeezed painfully.

"What happened?" He heard himself ask, but his whole being seemed to be zoned in on her.

"What do you mean?"

"What happened when you left my home?" He repeated gently but she pulled away from him.

"Why should I answer your questions? What were you doing while I was gone? Did you shag that woman the same way you shagged me or was I just a special triumph?" Her voice was hard, cutting.

"Why are you so determined that I did anything with that woman?" He questioned as he stood to his feet and stepped away from her.

"I saw you! I saw you with your face attached to hers," Her voice was low and raspy, the wear on her throat still evident.

"You saw what you wanted to see! Had you actually stayed instead of going into a childish tantrum you would have seen that I did not encourage her, nor did I want her there at all." His voice was silken swords as they cut across her already ragged soul.

"You say that now, you've probably grown bored with her, going to go after other students here?" She shot at him and immediately regretted her words as his face turned to stone. His rage was so intense that she actually felt her mark burn on her shoulder and she felt as though she'd just swallowed fire. "I'm—"

"Leave." He whispered in a dangerous voice.

"Now who's being childish? You get mad and you instantly go into your little bubble of hatred and loathing. What's the matter Snape, never learn to deal with human emotions?" She knew she was treading on dangerous ground but she pressed forward. "Why are you so damned determined to push everyone away?"

Severus was trying to rein his temper in, but with his temper was the urge to rise to her bait; to show her that she was the only witch he wanted. He heard as well as felt himself growl low in his throat; he'd never before been in this situation, where the urge to strangle someone with his bare hands warred with his firm belief to never touch his mate, or a woman, in violence. He had heard his dad talk about this happening, it was allegedly supposed to draw a bat's mate to him but if anything he didn't want his mate, his student anywhere near him.

"You left, Miss Granger, not waiting for the reasons or explanation." His voice was calm regardless of the emotional tidal wave that was crashing through him.

"And you didn't follow me. What was I supposed to believe? You didn't come after me; you didn't try to find me!" She accused and his control over his temper finally broke. He grabbed her arms and shoved her back against the table she had been cleaning cauldrons on; the cauldrons fell to the floor but neither of them noticed.

"I wanted to follow you! I tried to send you owls but they all came back. I tried to find you, but even your mark wasn't letting me near you. I could not find you." He admitted quietly. He pushed her onto the table top then dragged her hips forward and ground her against the proof of his desire for her. "Do you feel that? You do this to me, no one else."

Hermione felt her desire flare up as she felt him hard and ready against her but she fought to keep her mind clear. "Why was my mark burning the whole time I was away then? It burned when that woman touched you; you said it tingled when I touched another man. Why was my mark burning the whole time I was gone?"

Severus stepped away from her in frustration and let out another growl. "Mates are meant to stay together for a reason! Your mark tingled and burned because it was the bat part of you, the bat part I put into you through my blood and semen, was trying to get back to me. Did you learn nothing from your reading?"

"None of the books said anything about that; they said nothing about the finer details of bat mates." She replied hotly, her body still on fire from the need that had swamped her system.

"The know-it-all didn't think to ask a question? Merlin, contact the Daily Prophet."

"The great bat from the dungeons making a joke? Merlin's beard, contact the world." She shot back at him and the atmosphere in the room suddenly lost its hostile tension.

He stepped closer to her and reached his hand up to cup her face but she pulled away. "This changes nothing, you—we—I don't want this. I—I don't want you." She said quickly, avoiding his gaze and she turned and fled the room.

Her feet carried her through the castle and out of the front doors, grateful to feel herself shift on her command into her bat form. She tried to take off but she was rusty, not used to flying, it took her two more times of trying to get airborne before she finally felt her claws leave the ground. A noise of delight came from her mouth as she soared over the forbidden forest and circled the sky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus felt her shift into her form as he entered his private quarters but resisted the urge to go to her that flooded his gut. He knew she had been lying when she said she didn't want him. Her eyes had told him a very different story, not to mention her body. He shifted his body trying to find relief from the tight fabric on his crotch but rolled his eyes when nothing helped. He wanted her, he wanted her body under his, around his, to be inside her and feel her come apart. The images of her lying on his desk at his house came back and he groaned again. Thoughts of going and retrieving her, then taking her in the forest against the trees flashed through his mind but he quickly dismissed them.

His hands found their way down to his zipper and freed his straining erection from the tight confines of his trousers. He leaned against the wall as his hand stroked his length slowly as he recalled the images of their last coupling. His other hand came down to rub his nut sack and he immediately let his head fall back. It only took six or seven strokes before he balls tightened and he exploded into his hand groaning out in pleasure.

After he cleaned himself up he walked over to his mantle to pour himself a drink, he drank down the first helping in one swallow and felt the whiskey burn on its way down.

"Damn," He said to the room at large. She was going to be the death of him; he could no longer deny that he wanted her. She annoyed the shite out of him, and perhaps he only wanted her because of her status as his mate; but want her he did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione returned to the castle that night and fell into her bed fully clothed; she was asleep before her head hit the bed. She woke the next morning feeling better than she had felt in over a year, better rested, and her head felt clearer. Her mood dampened slightly however when she remembered that she had potions again that afternoon. Ginny looked up as she sat down and smiled at her.

"Hey, how was your detention yesterday?" Ginny asked as she watched Hermione fill her plate with food.

"The same, I suppose. I had to scrub cauldrons from the day's use." Hermione replied somberly as she bit into her eggs. She wrinkled her nose in distaste as she chewed but swallowed them down. Her stomach gave a hearty growl telling her she was hungry as she pushed her plate away. She looked around the table at the food placed there hoping to see something she saw that looked good. When her eyes landed on a plate of bacon her mouth instantly started to water, so she reached across and grabbed a few pieces; after she had eaten those, she found herself reaching for more.

"Woah, Hermione," Ginny said with amusement in her voice. "You getting ready to start your period or something?" Hermione looked at her oddly for a moment not stopping in her eating. "I always crave meats and such when it's my time of the month."

Hermione stared at her and felt the blood drain from her face; she hadn't had a period since she had left months ago. "I gotta go." She said to Ginny and took off for the Infirmary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus saw Hermione run from the great hall looking as though she was going to pass out any second. He quickly got up and walked from the hall, turning a corner just in time to see the girl go into the infirmary. Looking up the corridor he checked to see if anyone was coming and then he crept towards the door.

"—Period in months, maybe 4 or 5." He heard Hermione say.

"Well, that can be fixed with a simple test I should think." The school's mediwitch said. There was silence from inside the room and then the nurse started talking again. "Negative, has your diet changed? Been under any real stress perhaps?"

"Yeah, a bit." Hermione responded and he backed away from the door.

He turned on his heel and headed for his first class of the day, his mind racing. Why would she think she was pregnant? Had she been seeing someone while she was in Australia? Anger coursed through him at the thought of her in someone else's arms and he slammed his classroom door open. She dared to accuse him of cheating, or being unfaithful, and yet she was worried about being pregnant because she'd been sleeping with other men.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione walked into potions that afternoon and sat down to wait for Snape to being. He didn't begin the class with his normal lecture however, he simply told them the ingredients they'd need and told them to get to work, and the directions were on the board.

The class looked shocked at his abrupt manner, but decided not to argue with him. Once everyone had started brewing he began to walk the classroom, stopping here and there to berate students. All of them were used to this by now, but he was being particularly nasty today, making everyone nervous and on edge.

"This is shameful, you are in your seventh year at this institution and you have yet to figure out how to follow directions. Do any of you have brains at all? Clear up and get out, you've all failed for today." He snarled at them at the end of the class. There were mumbles around the classroom as the students cleared away their things but with a quick look from their professor, their grumbles were silenced.

Hermione was clearing up and putting her potion into a vial when her shoulder suddenly burned hot making her drop her potion onto the floor. She stared at the glass and liquid as it seeped into the concrete growing annoyed at the constant twinges of pain she kept feeling. The last of the students were trickling out of the classroom while she heard him walk over to her.

"Another zero for today Miss Granger? My, my, what are we going to do with the resident know-it-all having such poor grades?" She heard him sneer behind her and she stiffened. She kept her temper in check as she kneeled down to clean up the mess but his voice cut through the silence again. "How terribly sad it must be to have such troubling things on your mind that you can't even pass potions."

Hermione's temper snapped and she turned on him with anger written clearly on her face. "Going to fail me Professor? Go ahead. I'd love nothing more than to inform the headmistress why you failed me." She saw his body freeze and knew she had his attention. "Why the bloody hell does my shoulder keep hurting all the time?" She shot at him.

"My shoulder is perfectly fine; mayhap you should see the nurse again?"

"I don't need to see—How did you know I went to the nurse? Were you following me?" Anger evident in her voice as she stepped towards him.

"How many men did you sleep with while you were abroad? So many that you're unsure if you're pregnant?" He snapped at her.

"How dare you—"

"How dare I? How dare you Miss Granger?" He said as he closed the gap between them forcing her back against her desk. "Have you forgotten you are mine! You are my mate."

"Oh what a load of shit, sir, I'm not your mate." She hurled back at him standing her ground.

"The mark on your shoulder proves—"

"The mark on my shoulder proves that you bit me, I am not your mate."

"Yes you are, dammit." He hissed at her again.

"I stopped being your 'mate' the moment you found yourself touching another woman. You have no mate." Hermione was furious and both of them were now nearly shouting despite only being inches from each other.

"How many times are you going to beat a dead horse? I did not touch her."

Hermione snorted in disbelief and gathered her things, then made to walk past him, "Right. And I'm the tooth fairy." She made it almost to the door before it slammed in her face and was whirled around to face a red faced Snape.

"Why are you so dead set on challenging me on everything?" He asked in a quiet voice, his eyes blazing with anger.

"Because I get under that tough skin of yours Severus Snape, I get to you, I grate on your nerves, but you can't stand to not be around me; and the bugs the hell out of you." She answered back. "And as much as you hate it, as much as you deny it, you want me." The words had barely left her mouth before he was pressing her against the door, his body firmly touching hers.

"Ah, but you deny it as well, Miss Granger. You want me." He challenged back grinding him hips against hers. Her eyes met his and the challenge hung in the air between them, neither pulling away but neither moving closer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione looked into his face; the only sound in the room was the sound of their breathing. Hers was rapid and shallow; his was calm and level. She marveled at his ability to stay calm in the types of situations most people would sweat in; most situations she'd sweat in. She pushed him away from her roughly and turned to open the door again.

"Running again? What happened to the Hermione Granger who ran after the danger, the woman that ran into a battlefield to help her friends?" His voice said behind her and she froze again.

Her eyes closed as the stinging of tears prickled her eyes again and she breathed in deeply to calm her raging emotions. When she was certain she had them under control she turned back to face him and held her head up, looking him in the eyes. "That woman doesn't exist anymore. That woman died first when she saw you in the arms of another woman, then when you didn't try to find me, then lastly when she lost her parents. That's what happened to that Hermione Granger, professor. She grew up." Her voice was hard, making her sound years older than her nineteen years.

"I don't believe that, I think she's in there. But this wanna-be tough bitch has her gagged and bound." He said. "I am sorry to hear about your parents, I'm sure that was hard to deal with but blaming their actions for your behaviors is a pretty piss-poor way to act mature. They're dead. You think they want to watch over their daughter as she drives herself into the ground?"

Hermione pulled her fist back and sent it flying for his nose but he grabbed her wrist and dragged her against his body before it made contact.

"I strongly recommend hitting me Miss Granger," He said coldly.

"Why are you doing this?" Hermione asked as the control she had over her emotions crumbled slowly. "Why do you insist on pushing me? I'm not made of stone, Snape, and I can't just take your heartless words anymore."

Severus lowered his head to hers till his mouth was inches from hers and whispered quietly, "You may get under my skin, but I scare the shite out of you because you can't control me. The reigns of this relationship are not in your hands Miss Granger, and that infuriates you. You are so damned wrapped up in being in control of everything that anything you can't control, you run from." He shoved him from her roughly and she bumped against his door. "Grow up Miss Granger, don't give me that look, and quit being scared of shit just because you need constant control."

Hermione was shocked at his words; she felt her anger course through her and her tears spilled over her eyes. "Go to hell." She said to him before she opened his door and ran from the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus stared at the spot she had just occupied until her footsteps died away then he stumbled over to a nearby chair and sat down heavily. He lowered his head to his hands and gave a deep sigh, after a moment of focus he had shifted into his bat form and took off out into the corridor. He flew through the castle until he came to an open window and he soared through it. His thoughts were cut off for the moment and he enjoyed the feeling of the wind on his wings. He let out a low cry, and then waited a few minutes before doing it again. A brown bat suddenly flew towards him and joined him in his flight, both bats moving in sync seeming to move as one.

Nott let out a low cry, which Severus answered with his own and they flew towards a clump of trees transforming smoothly so that their feet touched the ground gently.

"What's wrong?" Nott asked instantly, looking at Severus' face.

"She's what's wrong! She's—she's—" Severus tried to get out but Nott interrupted.

"She's just like you."

"What? I am nothing like her!" He proclaimed indignantly.

"Please Severus, you both feel like you have to be in control and any sign that you don't have control you run." Nott said bluntly.

"I—" Severus began but shut his mouth. Nott was right, she was just like him. "What do I even do? She's completely different, she's come back different than when she left."

"Did you expect her to change? Merlin's pants Severus," Nott said in a tone that was exasperated.

"I don't know; I don't know how to handle her now." Severus admitted grudgingly.

"You need to figure it out Severus, she's your mate. You know what happens if she's not by you, you know the consequences of being estranged from your mate and you know what happens if you go too long without—"

"I get the picture Nott," Severus snapped, he sighed. "I apologize, I know, but it's not that easy."

"Why not?"

"She still thinks that Leighanna was something more than what she is. She thinks that—"

"Then tell her otherwise, show her otherwise. Swallow that damned pride of yours and suck it up." Nott said angrily and transformed into his bat form, he flew low over Severus and clipped the back of his head with his wings.

"Thanks Nott!" Severus shouted after his friend but transformed as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione was sitting at a table in the library attempting to study but her mind kept running through the conversation between herself and Snape. She was still shaking with anger as she tried to read the book on ancient witchcraft in the Middle Ages but it was useless. With a grunt of anger she threw the book across the library and placed her head in her hands.

She thought over the words Snape had said to her and tried to stay mad but the truth in his words made it hard. Her head cleared slowly which allowed her mind to think clearly, something that seemed impossible when she was around him.

She slammed her books back into her bag then shrunk her bag into her pocket; and walked quickly back through the library, through the castle, and out of the front doors. She focused on her body, on her mark, and felt her body shift into a bat. The feel of the wind coursing by under her wings made her heart soar and all the worries she had left. Flying had come back to her quickly; she had learned how to glide through the air with merely a small adjustment of her body.

A sharp cry came from her left and she looked to see a bat with pristine white feathers and a solid black body. There was a single feather on its wing that was pitch black, it stood out in sharp contrast against the other feathers. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen and for a reason she didn't understand she wanted more than anything to be with this bat. Her body followed her unknowing command and she found herself suddenly flying next to the other bat; soaring gracefully through the air without any real thought given to what she was doing. Another cry sounded through the air causing her to look around at the bat and saw it descend towards the ground; she followed without thought, and focused on transforming back into a human.

Her body hit the ground and she gave out an unlady-like grunt but a hand reached out to help her up. She followed the hand up the arm, up the body into the black eyes of Severus Snape and her heart split open with so many different emotions she couldn't name them all. When she placed her hand in his the electrified feeling she had felt all those months ago burst across her skin giving her goose bumps. He pulled her up and she hit his chest hard with another grunt and she raised her head up to look in his eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus searched her eyes looking for the anger she had displayed earlier, the absolute loathing that had been written in every line of her body but he saw nothing of the sort. Her honey brown eyes were alight with the same daring fire he had seen on the night of the battle when she had faced him, fought him. His eyes flicked down to her lips to see them parted in her breathing, which was rapid both from the excitement of flying as well as their close proximity. His body was on fire from the need of her, the need to have her again.

"Are you done running?" He asked her quietly, his voice only a whisper but still loud in the darkened silence of the forest.

"I—I don't know," She answered him, her eyes searching his face as if looking for some proof of a lie. "I'm scared."

"Fear is a good thing to acknowledge Miss Granger," He said, his voice still soft. His eyes met hers again and he saw his desire for her mirrored in her eyes. "I'll ask you again, are you finished running?" His lips were inches from hers as he asked his questioned her.

Hermione looked into his face and felt no hatred or anger at her that she had previously felt. She felt calmer than she had in longer than she had remembered, safer than she had since before the war, before her world had been shattered by Voldemort. She could feel his heart beating against her chest and her own heart seemed to have restarted to beat in time with his. Her eyes moved from his eyes to his lips then back again and she sighed softly. "Yes."

He seemed to be waiting for this answer because as soon as she said it his mouth lowered to hers in a kiss that sent fire bursting from her shoulder across her body and spiraling down to her stomach. His mouth forced hers opened and she let him in with no protest, her tongue warred with his and she placed a hand behind his head holding him against her. A groan echoed through his chest as his hands went to her hips and he pulled her against him. Her hands slid from his head and shoulders down to the buttons of his frock coat, he broke the kiss and tipped his head back to give her freer access. When all the buttons were undone she pushed his frock and shirt from his body to reveal his white torso to her. His own hands reached to do pull her shirt over her head and he made quick work of her bra as well, and then pulled her into his chest so that their bodies touched.

The night was chilled but not enough that they noticed as their mouths met again in a silent battle of dominance. He forced her to walk backwards till her back met that of a tree trunk and she gasped when the rough bark rubbed against her back. His hips ground against her and she let out a moan, his lips left hers to burn a trail of kisses across her jaw and down her neck. She felt like he was breathing fire onto her skin and her head swam dizzily.

"Why—why do you do this to me?" She asked him as he continued his assault against her neck and shoulder.

"Do what?" He queried in between kisses, he moved his attention downwards to her breasts and her back arched when his lips closed around her nipples.

"This? This way I react to you," She said trying to remain focused on her thoughts but his sinful mouth on her breast was making it difficult.

He didn't answer her question but rather dropped to his knees and pulled her down so that she was kneeling with him before pushing her down gently. Softness at her back made her look under her to see that he had conjured a blanket for her. His kisses continued their way down her stomach from her breasts until she felt him part her legs with his shoulders. Her hips jerked of their own accord when his fingers parted her slicked lips. He waited for her to calm and still before he lowered his mouth to taste her essence.

Hermione's head spun with desire as he ran his tongue down her slit and around her entrance before he moved his mouth up to encircle her clit. She tried to focus on the sensation of his lips around her sensitive bud but he slipped a finger into her wet passage and she pressed her head into the ground behind her.

Severus marveled at the feel of her around him fingers and the taste of her in his mouth; she tasted like honey, only more salty, but with the same sweetness. He could feel her muscles flexing around his finger, and he added another one with a moan as her body reacted to the invasion. She was tight, but hot and wet; he reapplied his tongue to her clit and heard her take a gasping breath. Her muscles tightened around his fingers in a squeezing grip before she shuddered and came apart with a moan of pleasure.

Light burst in front of Hermione's eyes as she felt herself tip over the cliff after her release and she was still dazed from the power of her climax when she felt him shift. He nudged her legs further apart with his then settled between them, he positioned himself at her entrance then pushed slowly into her. Her heart felt like it would explode; never had she felt such a sense of rightness, a sense of belonging than in that moment. When he was fully seated in her he stilled and looked down at her, studying her face.

"This is where I belong," it wasn't a question; but rather a statement that she couldn't argue with. He withdrew from her just as slowly as he had entered, then thrust in again. His strokes were slow and steady, but they ignited Hermione's already sparked desire.

She leaned up to capture his lips in a searing kiss and he picked up his pace thrusting quicker now. He placed a hand on her hip and showed her how to move against him, guiding her to raise her hips when he thrust in so that he was as deep as he could be on his inward stroke. Once she got the hang of moving he removed his hand from her hip and brought it up to clutch her shoulder. He was thrusting harder now, catching her clit when he thrust in and she felt her body tense.

Severus looked down into her eyes, the brown color now pools of trust, desire, and admiration. He closed his eyes and groaned as her body tightened around him, squeezing him like a glove. He opened his eyes to look down at her when her body tensed, the sight of her coming undone under him sent his own pleasure over the edge.

"Severus," she moaned as her body continued to shudder from her pleasure and the sound of his name made his own release speed up his spine.

His hips thrust hard and fast into her body as his seed shot hotly into her over and over each spurt accompanied by the groan of pleasure from him. Hermione watched his face as he continued to flex his hips reflexively riding out his orgasm. His head dropped forward onto her shoulder so he could catch his breath, he pulled out of her, but didn't roll off of her.

"You realize that this changes almost nothing," She said softly. He picked his head up to look at her eyes flashing dangerously with anger. "We still have much to talk about." She offered further and the anger faded from his eyes almost instantly.

"I know, Miss—" He started to say but she shook her head.

"Hermione." She corrected him.

"Hermione," He tried out; her face broke into a broad grin at her first name being spoken in his smooth voice. "I know, Hermione."


	11. Conflict

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione didn't know how long they lay on the ground surrounded by the trees and the night but she shivered when she suddenly felt her skin get wet. She turned her head to look at Snape and saw him staring up into the canopy of the forest.

After a few minutes of watching him she took a deep breath, "Now what?"

There was no response from the man lying next to her for a long time, but as she opened her mouth to say something else he finally answered.

"We work it out." He said in his smooth silky voice. He glanced at her and she nodded slowly still unsure about what he meant, but as he got up he explained. "I'm not an easy person to be with Miss—Hermione."

She slowly stood to her feet as well feeling the aches from her thighs and hips from their coupling. "I would surely die of boredom if you were easy." She smirked at the reproachful look he shot her but shrugged.

"I do have a question though?" She said as they began to walk through the trees back towards the castle.

"Only one? My, I am certainly impressed," Severus said good-naturedly and she glared at him.

"Oh, ha ha. What—what about her? The woman you were with—before?" She asked uncertainly. She heard his sigh of frustration and bit her lip. "Never mind, forget I asked; it's not my business."

"Miss—Hermione, stop," He said calmly and grabbed her wrist when she tried to continue walking. "I'm assuming you know some Occlumency?" When she nodded and lowered her eyes, he tipped her head up till her honey-brown ones met his coal black ones.

Hermione stared into his eyes until she felt like she was falling through them, a moment later she was standing next to him looking at a frozen image.

"What the hell?" She thought but heard her own voice echo around the space. 

"We're in my mind; I want you to watch this." Severus' voice said and the image in front of her suddenly began to move. She saw herself lying on his desk through his eyes and blushed bright red at the thoughts he had in his memory. She watched as Nott came in to tell him that there was someone there for him. He walked from the room and down the stairs to see his old acquaintance and lover Leighanna standing there. When she noticed him she threw herself into his arms and pressed her lips to his; anger shot through Hermione at the sight again but she could hear his thoughts this time, could feel the disgust and anger coursing through his system. 

"Leighanna, what are you doing here?" He asked the woman in a cold voice. 

"I came to see you Severus, I missed you." 

"We cannot do this Leighanna, I have a mate." He had responded keeping his voice hard and cold. 

Hermione felt herself being shoved from his mind at that point and her head gave a painful throb. She quickly turned from him and bent over emptying everything she had in her stomach onto the forest floor. Hands came up to hold her hair back while she continued to vomit, she body was shaking from the force of her heaves, and she felt a cooling sensation on her neck. When the heaving stopped she stood back up and leaned against Severus.

"I apologize, I should have asked if you had ever done that before," He said softly his concern clear in his voice.

"I've—I haven't ever done anything past probing the fore-front of someone's mind." Hermione rasped out trying to settle her stomach. Severus walked a little ways away from her clearly looking for something, he appeared to have found it because he bent then stood and walked back over to her.

"Here, eat this." He said as he handed her three leaves from a plant. "It'll help," He said when she gave him a questioning look.

She took the leaves and put them in her mouth, chewed and swallowed instantly feeling the uneasiness in her stomach settle. The taste of vomit left her mouth as well as peppermint filled her senses.

"Peppermint leaves," She said and he nodded in confirmation. The memory she had seen came back to her and she flushed with embarrassment. "I'm—erm—sorry."

"What for?" He questioned as they continued on their path, occasionally walking ahead of her to hold branches aside.

"Accusing you, not knowing the whole story," Hermione said softly as she walked by him.

"Where did you go?" He queried.

"Australia. To find my parents. I found them, in the ground, dead for nine months. My mother—She was expecting, I would have had a younger sibling, and now—Now I have no one. No family." Hermione said thickly, tears filling her eyes quickly then spilling down her cheeks.

Severus watched her as she came to a stop and buried her face in her hands; the shaking of her shoulders told him that she was sobbing. He thought for a moment then walked forward and pulled her into his chest. "Let me show you something."

"But, classes, it's almost morning." She said looking away from him to where the castle was located but he gripped her chin in his hand.

"It won't take long, come." He transformed a moment later and waited until she followed suit before the pair of them took off into the sky.

The feeling of flying next to him came back to her stronger than before but this time she understood why. He was her mate, her companion, she was meant to be beside him whether in the air or on the ground. She was meant to stand or fly beside him in every area of life; her body floated closer to his and he looked over at her in surprise but let out a cry to her. The landscape flew past them and she knew by the change in the smell of the air that they were flying away from Hogwarts. After about 30 minutes of flying they started to descend, finally reaching the ground and transforming an hour from where they started.

"Where are we?" Hermione asked as she looked around. They were standing on a rock cliff looking over the water directly in front of a cave.

"Come with me, don't be afraid." He reassured her when she hesitated. She felt magic slide over her body as they walked into the cave but she didn't get the feeling of needing to defend herself. They stopped in front of a stone wall but after a muttered word from Severus, they walked straight through the wall.

"What the-?" Hermione said in amazement as her eyes adjusted to the light. They were standing in what looked like a house, only built inside a cave. There were rooms off the main one they were standing in and it didn't smell stale or dank like she expected it to. The house inside a cave wasn't even the most amazing part, no, what was even more amazing was that there were people sitting on couches, chairs, and cots either reading or talking with the others. A fire was roaring in the mock fireplace that had been built.

"Welcome to the bat pack," Severus said looking back at her and cocking an eyebrow, he walked further into the room and the people sitting or lying around instantly stood up.

Hermione watched them come up to Severus and shake his hand or say a quick word of greeting. Someone bumped into her shoulder making her stumble forward and she turned to glare at the person only to break into a wide grin.

"Nott!" She said as she ran to him and he enclosed her in a large hug. She put her face into his shoulder and breathed in the reassuring scent she had come to associate with him.

"Hey, how are you?" He asked her but as she opened her mouth to respond a female voice came from behind her that made her blood run cold.

"Severus, I knew you couldn't stay away."

Hermione looked up at Nott's face to see him looking at the woman that had spoken and then his eyes flicked down to hers. She caught sight of something close to panic in his eyes before he masked it and looked away from her. She turned to see the same woman, Leiganna, standing a few inches from Severus. Though there were several other people in the room, she seemed to be acting as though they were alone. She looked around and noticed that the people that had been standing around Severus before had now backed away from the four of them leaving a large space. Leighanna reached a hand out to Severus' cheek but Hermione's body was in-between them in an instant without knowing how she had actually gotten there.

Leighanna looked down in fury at her and sneered, "What's this Severus, a play thing of yours. Move along little girl, the adults are talking." The woman attempted to push Hermione out of the way but a growling noise started radiating from Hermione's throat.

"Back up bitch," Hermione said in a voice she barely recognized, her voice had taken on a deeper more husky tone. The growling she realized, was coming from her own throat and though she tried to stop it, she found she couldn't.

Leighanna's eyes grew wide at the little slip of a girl in front of her and she reached out a hand and shoved the girl aside. "I don't know who you think you are brat, but I am not someone—"

SLAP.

Hermione watched in satisfaction as Leighanna's head slammed to the side as she slammed the back of her hand across the older woman's face. She put herself back in front of Severus' body as the woman shot glares at her.

"Leighanna, my mate, Hermione Granger," Severus' voice said from behind him and Hermione felt an arm wrap around her waist pulling her against his chest and torso.

"You must be joking, Severus, she's a child. I didn't know you were one to screw pups." Leighanna snarled.

Severus felt as well as heard Hermione start growling again and his desire flared up once again. He fought down his own need in face of the situation he found himself in. He had actually been shocked that Hermione had hit the woman, though he didn't have any complaints.

"I am his mate, if you touch him, contact him, or so much as breathe in his direction I will make that pretty face of yours not so pretty. Get out." Hermione said calmly, taking strength from Severus' chest again her back.

"Why you little bit—" Leighanna said but Severus cut her off.

"I do believe my mate told you to leave."

Leighanna stared at him in disbelief before she lowered her gaze to Hermione, hatred flashed in her eyes and she raised her hand. Before it could make contact with Hermione's face she was thrown backwards across the cave and hit a wall, then slumped to the floor unconscious. Hermione looked down at her hand in stunned silence before looking up at Severus. She saw fiery desire in his eyes and she felt her own rise up to meet his.

"Well, about time someone got rid of her," Nott's voice said breaking her and Severus' heated gaze.

There were sounds of agreement around the room and the group of people walked up to her to greet her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time the two of them left the pack it was nearly daybreak, Hermione tried to transform into her bat form but after several time of trying she was unsuccessful.

"I can't do it," Hermione said down to Severus as he had transformed into his bat form before her. She blinked and the man was standing in front of her again looking at her in concern.

"What's wrong?" His voice was laced with concern for her.

"I'm—so tired." Hermione said on a yawn and she walked over to the rock wall behind her and leaned against it. Severus walked over to her and pressed his hand against her mark, a second later she was looking up at him from her own bat form. She huffed in frustration at him but he merely chuckled at her.

"Stay here, I'll be right back." Severus said before he walked back inside the cave. He looked around the room until he saw the brown head of hair he was looking for. "Nott!" He called across the room and the man in question looked up. "I need your help." He and Nott walked back outside to find Hermione curled up in her bat form sound asleep.

"Think she'll awaken?" Nott asked him looking down at his friend's mate.

"Unlikely. She's been through a lot the past few months." Severus answered. At Nott's questioning look he quickly added. "She went to Australia to find her parents, only to get there and find that they had died. With a baby on the way." Nott nodded his head.

"What do you need?"

"Help me get her back to Hogwarts?" Severus asked and Nott nodded his head. Severus transformed first and waited for Nott to join him. Once they were both transformed, Severus cried to Nott and took off into the air, Nott grabbed Hermione gently in his claw then took off smoothly.

The trip back to Hogwarts took very little time at all, and the corridors were empty due to everyone still sleeping. When the trio made it back to Severus' quarters, Severus transformed and led Nott into his room and motioned for Nott to lay Hermione on the bed. Once he had deposited her, Nott smoothly transformed back into his human form as well.

"How long will she sleep do you think?" Nott asked.

"At least till afternoon," Severus whispered as he led the way back out of his room. He looked around to see Nott staring longingly at his couch. "Go on."

"What?"

"Get some sleep; I know you are as used to being awake during the day as I am." Severus said and his friend nodded then made himself comfortable on the couch. Severus dressed in his teaching attire and checked on Hermione once more before he left his quarters and headed to breakfast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day passed fairly quickly, and without any incident. He had spoken to Minerva about Hermione being sick so she was excused from classes for the day.

"Miss Lovegood," Severus called as his 6th years exited his classroom for the last class of the day.

The blonde Ravenclaw prefect turned back into his classroom and walked to his desk. "Yes Professor Snape?"

"I require you to gather Miss Granger's work for today and bring it down to my quarters." He said, his voice still in the authoritative tone he always had.

"Yes sir." She replied airily as she turned to go.

"Miss Lovegood, I have not told you how to get to my quarters," Severus called in mild amusement.

"Oh, I already know how to get there sir, the door just before your classroom door leads to your quarters." Her voice held slight amusement.

"How in merlin's name do you know that?" Severus asked in outrage.

"The wackspurts of course." Severus stared after the girl in confusion but followed her out of the classroom and up to the Great Hall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione woke up to a dark room and she shot upright, only to fall back against the pillows holding her head. She heard voices coming from somewhere outside of the room she was in, so she got up slowly trying not to move too quickly, and lit her wand to find the door. When she walked through the door she saw Severus, Nott, and Luna standing in Severus' living room.

"—Then she just slapped the woman." Nott was saying to Luna and they both started laughing.

"Uh, hi," Hermione said and the three people turned to look at her. Luna looked unsurprised to see her standing there and merely waved her hand vaguely at her.

"Are you feeling better?" Severus asked from where he was standing by the mantle looking at her. His face was thrown into relief by the light of the fire in the fireplace, and she nodded slowly at him.

"Hello Luna," She said smiling politely at the blonde girl sitting by Nott.

"Hello Hermione, how long have you been Severus' mate?" Luna asked her voice just as vague as always.

Hermione's eyes shot to Severus but he was staring at the sixth year with a suspicious look. "How did you—?" Hermione asked her voice cracking slightly.

"Your auroras of course, they match. They're very pretty, all purple's and blues, but both pure white in the center." Luna said staring at the space around the two of them. The other three people in the room were staring at her with different expressions; Severus with outrage and disbelief, Hermione with humor and amazement, Nott with admiration and wonder. Hermione's eyes narrowed as she studied Nott, the way his body was turned to face Luna and the way his eyes were searching over his face as though he'd never seen anything like her before.

"You can't tell anyone about this Luna," Hermione warned turning her attention away from Nott and back towards the threat of exposure. "This has to stay a secret."

"Can't tell anyone what?" Luna inquired looking at her straight in the eye. Luna had always been a bubble head, and Hermione had always thought she was crazy; but when their eyes met an understanding passed between them. "I must get back to my dormitory; I'm reading a story about the Crumple-horned snorkack."

"I'll walk you," Nott volunteered, jumping out of his chair. Luna smiled at him and the two of them left through the door that led to the corridor.

Hermione waited until they were gone before she turned her attention back to Severus and raised her eyebrows at him. "Why was Luna here?"

"I asked Miss Lovegood to bring your homework you missed," Severus said as he sat down on the couch Luna had just vacated.

Hermione walked over to where he was sitting and leaned against the couch arm. "Why not Ginny?" She asked momentarily forgetting that he wasn't aware that the female Weasley knew.

"Why would I ask Miss Weasley?" He said curiously looking up at her. She avoided his gaze and she felt him tense. "Hermione, why would I ask Miss Weasley?"

"Because I told her when I was staying at the Burrow," Hermione mumbled under her breath.

"What?" He hissed through clenched teeth.

"Because I told her when—" Hermione began to repeat.

"I heard you the first time!" Severus snarled as he shot to his feet.

"Then why did you ask what I said?" Hermione exclaimed angrily. "How could you even hear that?"

"I have heightened hearing and smelling."

"She noticed something was wrong when I went over there, and she asked." Hermione answered the question she knew he wanted to ask. "Wait—If your smell scents are heightened shouldn't be you able to smell if I've been with another man?"

"I can smell if you've been with another man," He answered unconcernedly.

"Then why did you accuse me of sleeping with Ron?" She felt her anger spike again.

"I can't smell that, I can smell if you've been around another man. I can smell everything about you." Hermione watched as he walked over to her and leaned in close. "I can smell your hair, the vanilla shampoo you use. I can smell your body wash, and your perfume, you spritz it behind your ear and on your wrists." He kissed her neck and she shivered, but the nagging questions she wanted answered kept her head from clouding.

"You didn't answer me, why did you have Luna bring my homework?" Hermione pressed him. She looked up at his face to see the corners of his mouth twitching. "What? Tell me."

"I want to shut Nott up, he's far too smug in his—freedom." Severus claimed looking down at her with a smirk.

"You really think he's going to fall for that? He's what? 30?" Hermione said skeptically.

Severus chuckled and shook his head, "He's my age. We went to school together, and if he had been able to—" Severus started to say but Nott entered the room at that moment. Hermione and Severus raised their eyebrows at him with identical looks of amusement.

"You guys could be mirror images when you do that," Nott commented as he walked over to the couch and flopped back down. "What?" He asked looked between the two of them staring at him.

"Care to explain what you were doing walking her to her dorm?" Severus asked and Hermione crossed her arms as she nodded.

"Well, it is dangerous isn't it? Walking alone through the school being a girl," Nott replied convincing no one.

"Indeed." Severus commented his disbelief clear in his voice. He and Hermione shared a look making Nott frown.

"Listen you two, no—no matchmaking or whatever you're planning. No schemes." Nott accused as he sat forward leaning closer to Severus.

Hermione gave him a wide-eyed innocent look that clearly said, "I'd never do that." Nott and Severus snorted their humor and Hermione's eyes narrowed as she glared at the two of them. "Well, I am going back to my dorm if you two are going to gang up on me." She walked towards the door prepared to exit the room when Severus' voice called her back.

"I believe you are forgetting something," He said, his voice silky making her shiver.

Hermione smirked as she turned around and walked back over to Nott, "Of course, sorry Nott." She kissed the top of his head before she walked over to Severus and patted the top of his head. "See you tomorrow Severus."

Severus growled as he pulled her wrist from his head and dragged her to him bringing her lips down to his at once. Their tongues warred against each other and Severus nipped her lower lip making her moan out against his mouth. Severus pulled her down into his lap and she shifted her hips when his hardness pressed against the apex of her thighs. Nott cleared his voice from behind them alerting her to his presence again. She scrambled quickly off his lap and to her feet with her face bright red.

"I'll see you later," She said quickly before practically sprinting from the room. Severus glared at Nott in frustration but Nott merely smiled at him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione walked into supper and her eyes shifted immediately to the head table where she saw Severus, and to her surprise, Nott. She smiled slightly at Severus when his eyes jerked up to hers after a nudge from Nott. The corners of his lips lifted up minutely in greeting but he dropped his eyes back down to his food. Nott grinned widely at her but she simply rolled her eyes as she sat down at Gryffindor table.

She'd just started eating her meat pie when she felt someone sit next to her and she looked around into the eyes of Draco Malfoy.

"Hello Draco," Hermione said after she'd swallowed, the pair was getting glares and curious glances from the other tables but they were ignored.

"Hermione, have you gotten any letters lately?" Draco asked her quietly.

"What kind of letters?"

"From—from my father maybe?" His voice and body language showed that he was nervous.

"No…Why would your father write me?" Hermione asked him. Draco's steel gray eyes met her and she was startled to see fear in them.

"Can we go somewhere? To talk," She almost said no until his eyes sought hers again and she saw the silent plea in them.

"Yeah, alright." He stood up first and grabbed her wrist, dragging her behind him out of the hall. She felt a set of eyes follow the two of them but didn't look back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nott nudged Severus and when the other man looked up, he nodded at the table where Malfoy's spawn had just sat next to Hermione. The two men watched Hermione and Draco converse, the boy was notably agitated. Severus scowled when he saw Draco stand and drag Hermione behind him; his mark burning because of the touch added to his anger. He looked over at Nott and raised an eyebrow, causing Nott to stand and unobtrusively follow the two students out of the great hall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione jerked her wrist out of Draco's grasp once they were out of the Great Hall, and led him up the stairs to an empty classroom. The two of them stepped inside and she placed up wards around the room guaranteeing privacy.

"What is this about?" Hermione asked angrily.

"I think my father may try to contact you, try to lure you out of the castle so that he can hurt Snape." Draco proclaimed uneasiness in his voice.

"Why does he want to hurt Snape?" Hermione inquired.

"My father isn't very pleased that Snape was a traitor that helped bring down the Dark Lord."

"Your father didn't even fight, he turn and ran once he realized Harry survived, again." Hermione told him, confused as to why Lucius would react this way.

"Don't ask me to decode the crazy man's actions," Draco snapped.

"Well, if he sends me any letters I'll be sure to burn them." Hermione snapped back as she lifted the wards but Draco grabbed her arm before she could leave the room.

"Be—be careful. I know the type of man my father is and the things he can do." Draco warned putting his face close to hers. She tipped her head to the side when she saw something flash in his eyes but it was gone so quickly she shrugged it off.

Hermione pulled her arm away and left the room but didn't head back to the great hall; instead she started walking towards the Gryffindor portrait hall. She may have put on a brave face with Draco but the thought of Lucius Malfoy coming after her scared her. As she rounded a corner the hairs on her neck stood up in a way that alerted her to someone watching her. She picked up her pace as she walked towards her destination but the sound of footsteps behind her made her walk faster until she was almost running. When she rounded another corner she slammed into a body and she screamed until a hand covered her mouth.

"Hermione, hey, quit screaming," Nott said as she screamed against her hand. Her terrified eyes met his and he lifted his hand quickly. "What happened? Why were you running?"

"Someone was following me," She gasped, tears of relief filling her eyes. Nott's eyes flashed suddenly and he pushed her back against a bit of wall that was in shadow behind a statue. His eyes met hers and he raised a finger to his lips, waiting till she nodded before he looked around the statue. He could hear footsteps but was unable to see anyone. A scent hit his nose that he knew and his blood froze in his lungs.

"Is someone there?" She whispered quietly into his chest. She felt him nod against her head and felt more tears well in her eyes. Her eyes widened with fear as the footsteps continued but came to a stop on the other side of where they were hiding.

Nott pressed his mouth to her ear and said "sh" in a low voice. Her mark was burning painfully alerting her to the fact that Nott's body was pressed fully against hers, not that she was going to pull away from him. A sob escaped her and his hand came up to press her head and mouth into his chest just below his shoulder. The footsteps walked closer to them and she was suddenly yanked from Nott, a red flash of light later and she was thrown back against the wall blackness claiming her vision.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus stayed in the Great Hall waiting for Nott to return, but when his shoulder felt like it had been set on fire, he got up quickly and left the hall. Once into the entrance hall he heard footsteps heading up the stairs so he walked towards them, catching the scent of Hermione, Nott, and another person. His blood froze in his veins as the scent hit his brain alerting him to who it was. His pace increased as he followed the trail, the burning in his shoulder increased substantially making his steps falter. Anger and concern coursed through his body, his mark would only burn this badly if Hermione was in full contact of another man. Her entire body would have to be touching him in order for the pain to be this full force and without stopping. He rounded a corner and saw Lucius Malfoy, wearing clothes two times too small, standing in the middle of the corridor in front of a statue. Movement behind the statue told him that there was someone behind it, and when his ears picked up Nott telling someone to shush, he realized that Nott had Hermione behind the statue. The anger that had flashed up suddenly now simmered down as he took in the situation. Lucius walked towards the statue and reached behind it, pulling out a fighting Hermione, and Severus reacted on pure instinct.

Red light flashed from his wand as he pointed it at Lucius sending both the blonde haired man and his mate flying across the corridor and into the opposite wall. Nott peeked out from behind the statue and was relieved to see Severus standing there. Lucius was standing to his feet pointing Draco's wand at Nott and Severus alternately. Hermione was still slumped against the floor a small drip of blood sliding down her forehead.

"Why are you here Lucius?" Severus growled pulling his eyes from his mate to deal with the immediate threat.

"You are to blame for the Dark Lord falling; you are to blame for my family's current position." Lucius snarled, his face was gaunt and his body showed the wear Azkaban had inflicted.

"Time to pay up." He flicked his hand and stunned Nott who hadn't been expecting it. He ducked under the curse Severus threw at him and grabbed Hermione's leg; he sneered at Severus showing filthy teeth before he grabbed something from his boot and said "Revenge."

An instant later he and Hermione were gone leaving Severus to stare at the place they had been with fear. He ran to Nott and dropped to his knees sighing with relief when he felt the pulse of the other man. "Renervate," He said in a gravelly voice, trying to keep his panic and fear from overwhelming him.

Nott blinked slowly and groaned as he opened his eyes, Severus pulled him into a sitting position. Everything that had happened came back to him suddenly and he looked around the corridor then up at his friend with a horrified expression.

"He took her?" Severus nodded. "Do you know where?" A shake of the head. "Now can we kill him?" Nott asked as he climbed slowly to his feet his body aching.

"Now we go kill him," Severus replied with anger in his voice and murder in his eyes.


	12. Rescues and Revenge

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione's head was pounding when she finally opened her eyes, but she looked around the room she was in though she was unable to see much of anything. A pressure on her ankle made her look down to see a shackle had been placed there which was put on so tightly that it was pressing into the bone. She tried to reach down to shift the metal a little bit but found her arms unable to move at all.

"Don't bother trying to move, he put a curse on you that makes you paralyzed from the neck down," A voice said to her left and she whipped her head around to see Draco sitting next to her, apparently in the same position.

"Draco? What are you doing here?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Same as you, I guess." Draco replied wearily not looking at her. His face was paler and thinner than she had ever seen it, his hair hung around his face in limp strings.

"Why are we here?" She pressed, hoping for answers.

"Storage, leverage against the right people." Hermione frowned at the deadened tone his voice had taken on.

"Is this where you've been all this time? I thought maybe you were just avoiding me after our little fiasco in the forest." Hermione commented as she laid her head back against the stone wall behind her.

"Yep. Or maybe not since then, I remember getting a note from my mother asking me to come visit her, but I never made it there. My father intervened and stopped me, knocking me unconscious and brought me here. He's been cutting my hair for the last few days I'm assuming to use for Pollyjuice potion. Is that how he got you?"

"Shit. Yes, I thought he was you. Came to talk to me in the Great Hall, asked to talk, I managed to run into a friend who protected me until Severus showed up and blasted us both into a wall. I can't remember the rest. Severus will come though." Hermione claimed confidently.

"Does he know you were taken? How do you expect him to find you? There're wards up around this place." Draco replied dryly looking over at her finally.

"He'll find me," Hermione repeated with the same confidence.

"If you say so," Draco said his disbelief evident in his voice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus was trying to keep his head clear as he and Nott flew to the cave where the rest of their clan lived. It had taken him a good 15 minutes and two tries to transform properly because he was shaking from suppressed rage.

Nott had simply waited patiently for him to transform keeping his mouth shut. He knew Severus and knew his temper well enough that if he so much as sneezed in the wrong direction he'd probably be cinder on the ground. Once they'd gotten into the air though he had trouble keeping up with Severus because he was flying so fast, not that Nott didn't understand.

They arrived at the cave at the same time but Severus transformed and took off running into the cave without even stopping. Nott followed close behind him and was grateful to see everyone was still awake and there.

"I need your help," Severus said without preamble. The other looked up immediately and stood to their feet when they saw their leader.

"What is it?" A deep voice asked from the back of the group, there was a hush around the others and they stepped aside to let the speaker through.

"My mate has been taken by Lucius Malfoy," Severus snarled, not having the patience to answer questions.

"Your mate seems to get captured often Dux, perhaps you should have picked your mate more carefully," The man said calmly.

Severus growled and stepped towards the man but Nott put a hand on his arm. "Now is not the time for alpha fights. Severus is your leader, follow him, or get out." Nott said to the man not taking his hand off Severus' arm. Nott didn't use his size or second-in-command status often but when he did it meant that it was serious or he was pissed.

The others in the clan were staring between their leader and the man that had spoken up but another voice called through the group. "Are we going to stand here or are we going to get to the rescuing?"

Everything was a flurry of movement after that as Severus launched into a plan and took over the role of leader.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione had been dozing when she heard the squeak of a door opening but she didn't open her eyes or look around. A foot came out and kicked her ribs making her grunt in pain and fall onto her uninjured side.

"Oh good, you're awake, that means we can begin." The cold drawl of Lucius Malfoy said through the dark.

"Begin what exactly?" Hermione asked as she was dragged across the floor behind the man.

"Revenge."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus was leaning against a wall in the cave focusing on Hermione with all his might. Trying to remember her voice, her scent, the way her eyes glimmered when she laughed but he still couldn't pick up her location. It was like he could sense her, but he could only sense that she could be sensed. He knew she was out there somewhere, and knew she was alive, but he couldn't get any type of read on her location.

"Here," Nott said throwing something at Severus which hit him in the face.

Severus opened his eyes with a snarl but saw that Nott was naked; he'd thrown his shirt at Severus' face. "I already have a bloody shirt," he growled before closing your eyes.

"Funny enough I can see that, are you forgetting that she was pressed against me behind that statue? Her scent is all over my shirt." Nott snapped at him.

"Oh." Severus said dumbly as he looked at Nott again.

"Arse." Nott turned on his heel and strolled away from Severus letting him focus again. Severus brought the shirt to his face a breathed deeply focusing only on his mates scent. It was faint, barely distinguishable underneath Nott and Miss Lovegood's scent but it was enough. His mark tingled on his shoulder and he let his mind go blank allowing it to be drawn to where she was.

His eyes snapped open as he saw where she was located and he walked quickly over to the group, he threw Nott's shirt back at him, taking time to smirk when it hit him in the face.

"Let's go." He said before he transformed. A second later there were at least 20 bats floating in the air, they all flew out towards the mouth of the cave and straight on into the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione was thankful that her body was in a paralyzed state; otherwise being dragged across the floor for so long would really hurt. She was sure that her body was getting torn up from the contact with the concrete floor but she might not be alive long enough to feel that.

She was dropped unceremoniously on the ground and heard Lucius walk past her, then turn to look at her.

"Where is Snape?" He asked her his wand pointed at her face.

"Why do people automatically assume I am his babysitter?" Hermione snarked staring up at the blonde man in defiance. She had barely got the words out before Lucius shouted "Crucio" and her body felt like it was dropped in acid. It lasted only a few seconds but her body continued to shake in the after effects.

"Where is Snape?" Lucius repeated with the same tone.

"I don't know where we left him perhaps?" Hermione replied. She really didn't know where Snape was but the chances were good that he had gone for help.

"Crucio," Lucius said lazily as he flicked his wand. Hermione's back bowed under the pain of the curse but she kept quiet this time, her mouth opened in a silent scream. When he let the curse up this time she promptly turned her head and puked onto the floor. "We can do this all night, I have lots of time."

"I don't know," Hermione croaked out and she tensed waiting for the curse but it never came.

"Fine. How do you contact him if you need him? I know you're his mate, how does he find you?" He asked her.

"I send him a little basket with some choco—" Hermione began but her sentence was cut off by another round of the cruciotis. Her brain felt like it was on fire, like it was burning up into a smoldering pile of ash.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus led the group to where he had seen her trying to ignore the shots of pain that was twisting his gut every few seconds. When he landed he hand to take a moment to calm his bodies shaking from a mixture of pain and anger before he could move again.

"This way," He rasped, he stumbled as he tried to walk again through the slice of pain through his gut. His mark was burning so hotly he was sure that if he touched it the skin would be bubbling.

They came upon an apparently abandoned shack and he waved at the group to get their attention. He directed some of them to go to the left, some to go around the back, and some of them to go with him. They moved together silent and united across the uneven lawn making no noise in the silence of the night. He was grateful that Lucius had picked a moonless night to take her, the blackness giving them cover in their dark clothing.

He came up to a window on the side of the shack but saw only darkness inside, he walked to window after window until a gleam of blonde caught his eye in one of the lower windows. Catching Nott's attention he called him over and pointed his wand at the window silently breaking the window and vanished the glass. He and Nott lowered themselves into the room silently keeping their wands raised as they approached the blonde laying on the floor. Severus lowered his wand as he recognized Draco sitting slumped over against a back wall, a shackle around his ankle.

"Draco?" Severus whispered to the boy and held his hands up when the boy jumped. "Where's Hermione?"

"Up—" Draco tried but his voice cracked, "Upstairs, back bedroom maybe." Severus stepped closer and saw that his face was bloody and bruised, lips cracked with lack of nutrient and water. He called for Nott, "Get him outside, put him somewhere safe till we can get his out of here." Nott nodded and told the two other men with them what to do before he tailed Severus out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione was laying on the floor gasping for breath as Lucius walked around the room muttering to himself. She had blood leaking from her mouth and her body ached painfully but she couldn't feel any other damage. A tingling had begun in her shoulder a few minutes previously but her brain wasn't clear enough to focus on it.

"Severus, please, please get here." She whimpered as Lucius' footsteps came closer.

"Pleading for your little mate isn't going to help your situation mudblood, just tell me where he is and I'll let you go." Lucius snarled at her.

"Yeah right, as a dead body," Hermione said as she spit out blood.

"Don't trust me mudblood, I'm insulted."

"Oh I'm sure I could come up with something better if you want to be insulted you slimy worthless piece of—" Hermione replied her voice full of hatred, a slicing hex hit her back and she gasped out a breath at the pain.

"Crucio!" Lucius repeated and Hermione screamed as the fresh wounds on her back split painfully.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus heard a female scream and his head jerked towards the sound. He exchanged a quick look with Nott and the other man nodded. The pair of them sprinted to where the scream was coming from and saw a light coming from under the closed door. Severus waved his hand to check for any wards and smirked at the ignorance of the ex-Death Eater when he felt none.

Severus nodded to Nott who reared back and kicked the door open with all his might, making the solid wood splinter under the force of his foot.

"Drop it Lucius!" Severus yelled pointing his wand directly at Lucius heart. He looked down at Hermione lying on the floor and felt a fresh wave of agony and fury twist his stomach. "You bastard."

Lucius didn't move, just simply looked at the two of them, raising his wand to point it back at Severus. He froze however when he felt the tip of a wand press into his neck, " ." A deep voice said from behind him. The wand clattered to the floor as it fell from Lucius hand.

Severus ran forward to check on Hermione, sighing when he felt a pulse; he picked her up gently then nodded at Nott. Once he handed her off to him Severus turned back to Lucius and pulled his fist back connecting it solidly with the blondes face.

"Avada Kedavra," The man holding Lucius said and Lucius fell to the floor dead before he hit.

"What the bloody hell?" Severus growled in fury at the man.

"He needed to die," The man said simply. Severus snarled out in anger but Nott's voice called him back to the present.

"Hash this alpha shit out later, you've got a mate to save." Nott reminded Severus, glaring at the man who was squaring off with Severus.

Severus growled low in his throat again, "I am the alpha and the leader; quit undermining my authority by making selfish decisions." A moment later the man had disappeared into his bat form and flew out of the house.

"Hogwarts?" Nott asked as Hermione's head rolled against her shoulder and she groaned.

"Yes, we'll have to disapparat. Be careful, take it slow." Severus commanded and Nott nodded. "I'll get Draco."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus carried Draco into the hospital wing, followed closely by Nott who was carrying Hermione. Poppy bustled towards them urgently with her wand held aloft and immediately began to cast diagnostic spells over Hermione and then Draco. Severus stood back and watched quietly as the results of her spell displayed up into the air.

Extensive internal bleeding as result of the crucio curse

Concussion

Bruised organs

Several scrapes and lacerations

Busted lip

Fractured eye socket

A low growling sound filled the hospital wing suddenly causing Poppy and Nott to look around in shock at Severus. Once the dark haired man noticed his growling he cleared his throat and desisted. "Sorry," Severus said briskly. He scowled at Nott when he saw the smug look on the older man's face but remained quiet. The healing process took far less time than sustaining the injuries had and after a half hour all the blood and injuries Hermione had sustained were healed. The only lingering problem was Hermione's shallow breath and the sheen of sweat on her face.

"I don't understand it, but she's running a high fever, it can't be an infection or as a result of her injuries, let me just—" Poppy said but Severus cut across her.

"I believe that I can be of assistance to that Poppy," Severus said calmly. He stepped forward softly and touched Hermione's shoulder, the tips of his finger coming into contact with the edge of her mark. Hermione's breathing immediately deepened and she calmed, causing Poppy to look at Severus with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I don't want to know." The witch said as she turned on her heel and walked over to Draco to heal him.

Severus stared down at Hermione until Nott touched his arm, looking back at the older man; he jerked his head for Severus to follow him. Severus looked back down at his mate before he turned and followed Nott out of the hospital wing. "What is it Nott?"

"You need to be patched up, and then you have to go back to the pack." Nott said firmly.

"No, I am needed—" Severus began but Nott cut him off, his tone angry.

"You are the alpha Severus, your mate is fine, you need to deal with your responsibilities first," Nott said his voice slightly rose in his anger.

Severus opened his mouth to argue but shut it at the fierce look Nott shot him. His friend was right, Hermione was not in immediate danger and his pack needed him. He nodded his head slightly before his eyes surveyed the surrounding corridor, finding it clear he transformed and took off Nott flying directly behind him.

In no time at all they found themselves entering the cave where the rest of their clan was residing and Severus took his human form. The man that had killed Lucius was in the front and Severus walked towards him furiously, he grabbed the man and pinned him against the wall by his throat.

"Who are you?" Severus hissed.

"I am a friend Alpha," The man responded, the use of Severus' standing in the pack made Severus loosen his grip but only just.

"That does not answer my question, who are you? What right did you have killing that man? He was mine, he wronged MY mate. By killing him you have challenged my place as alpha as well as the rights to my mate. Do you wish to challenge me?" Severus hissed furiously, his posture stiff rage and authority rolling off him in waves.

The man stared at him for a moment before he went limp in Severus' hands; he bowed his head in a universal show of respect for Severus' higher rank. Showing that he neither wished to challenge Severus for his mate nor his alpha status, and Severus released him unwillingly in acceptance of the man's stand-down.

"Why did you kill Lucius?" Severus questioned again, this time managing to keep his voice even.

"Was it not your intent to kill him?" The man countered, not answering Severus' question.

"Yes, I was going to kill him." Severus answered suspicion clear in his voice.

"And how were you going to explain that to your Ministry? Were you prepared to be sent to Azkaban, to be sentenced to a life in prison that would kill not only you but your mate as well? Are you forgetting that bat's mate for life and to separate two mates for a prolonged amount of time would kill you both? Not a quick death, may I remind you, but a slow wasting away of the person."

Severus felt himself stiffen at the man's words, in anger but also in to cold realization that he had almost sentenced Hermione to death in a fit of anger. "Who are you?" He pressed again and this time the man answered.

"I am you, my friend, from a different time from a different place." The man replied. "My name is Severus Snape, of the United States of America. Nice to meet you."

Severus stared at him for a moment before his brain finally recovered from the shock, "Excuse me, you are not me."

"Yes I am."

"Prove it."

"Our mother's name is Eileen Prince, our father was Tobias Snape, and we grew up in Spinner's End. In 1968 we met Lily Evans, nee, Potter. Our father drank himself to death when we were 5 and our mother lived to see us graduate Hogwarts. We have a scar on our upper thigh that we received during an exploration hike with Lily. We went to Albus Dumbledore in 1981 to switch sides after he killed Lily Evans after we reported to Voldemort a prophecy we had overheard." Severus managed to conceal the shock he actually felt carefully but Nott did not.

"What the bloody hell?" Nott said from behind the pair of Severus'.

"That is an excellent question." Severus replied, his eyes never leaving his counterparts.


	13. Grievances and Lectures

~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SEVERUS' POV

Severus was staring at the man in front of him critically, surveying him like he would one of his potions, and he could see the similarities that he'd missed before. The man had midnight black hair like him, but it was cut short, spiked up like he had run his fingers through it repeatedly. Severus almost snorted when he was reminded of James Potter doing the same thing. They shared the same eye color, both so deeply brown that they appeared black, but the other man's eyes were softer, less cold and harsh. There were fewer lines on his face, making him look admittedly attractive. He had clearly been without the broken nose though because his nose was large but lacked the bump from repeated breakings. He had an air about him that was coolly confident, not in an arrogant way but in a way that made him appear powerful. He was dressed casually, in muggle jeans and a button up shirt. Overall he looked like a "good" Severus.

NOTT'S POV

Nott flicked his eyes between the two men, taking in the stiffness of his long time friend's shoulders as opposed to the relaxed and open body language the other man had. It was like looking into an alternate universe, one with the past Severus had lived and one with the past that this other Severus lived. Questions flew through his mind so quickly that he actually got a headache, but he kept quiet as his alpha and friend surveyed the possible threat. His interest was definitely piqued, and if it were true that this man was indeed Severus, what did that mean for Severus' mate? Severus' voice broke his thought line however and he cleared his mind to pay attention.

"Why are you here?" Severus asked his other self calmly. His voice was still col and harsh, but if you listened close enough you could hear the curiosity as well.

"I was hoping you could explain that to me actually." The man responded, and Severus stiffened in frustration.

"What do you mean? How could I explain to you why you are here?" Severus responded coldly.

"Because I was living a nice life in America, until my bat instincts took over and called me here. To you. Or rather, to a wooded area where I caught your scent, I followed it back here and you were looking for your mate. I found her and brought her to you. So yes, I expect you to explain to me why exactly I am here." The man's proclamation was met with an absolutely stunned silence, both Nott and Severus staring at him in shock.

"How did you know where to find here? How did you even know what she smelt like?" Though this was a question, it sounded more like an accusation.

"Are you kidding? You reeked of her. You had obviously mated or else you wouldn't have smelt like her, and when I found her she smelt like you."

"Doesn't answer the question as to why you're here." Nott said, speaking up for the first time and drawing the man's attention to him.

"I just told you I didn't know," this was said in a tone so similar to Severus' that Nott almost laughed.

Nott glanced back over to Severus to see that the man was staring at the other with slightly narrowed eyes. He noticed that Severus' nostrils were flaring meaning that he was sniffing the man out, literally.

"Do you have a mate?" Severus asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"No, haven't found anyone I want to be tied to yet." Nott raised his eyebrow at the caustic and almost careless way this was said.

"It is possible—" Severus began but trailed off absentmindedly, almost as though he hadn't meant to speak out loud.

After waiting a few minutes for him to continue Nott finally prodded him in speech, "What's possible Severus?"

Severus started at this as though surprised to find Nott there, but he shook his head slightly before speaking again. "It is possible that you were drawn here because I took a mate. If you are in fact me that would send off the same signals to you as it did to me. Have you felt any discomfort in the last several months?"

When the man shook his head no, Severus began speaking again. "Although you are me, we are two different people. What attracts us is different but since I took a mate you would also go through some of the changes. Try to sense my mate; I should smell of her, I have her blood on me. Attempt to find her."

Nott and Severus stared at the other man as he closed his eyes and seemed to focus. His nostrils were flaring just as Severus' had moments before but after several minutes he opened his eyes and shook his head.

"I can't tell, I can smell her on you, smell her mark on you but I can't tell where she is."

"How were you able to find her in the woods?" Severus asked sharply.

"Your scent and hers, I simply went back to where your scent originated from. Once I was back in the trees I was able to pick up her scent from what I smelled on you, but I didn't find her by scent before I left here." Severus nodded slightly at this seeming to accept it.

"Doesn't explain how you got HERE, why are you in this time? Are you from the future or—"

"You would be the counterpart from—"

"Yes."

"But why didn't you stay—"

"Too dangerous, your dark Lord—"

"Indeed. Yours as well?"

"Never, I am merely a—"

"Interesting."

Nott blinked at the two men as they talked together and finished each other's sentences. His head gave a powerful throb as he tried to follow what they were talking about. "I'm sorry, but what the hell are you two talking about?"

The man turned to him and answered swiftly, "Before the start of the first war, I chose to go back in time, to attend my mother's funeral. I had missed it due to being at Hogwarts as well as the Dark Lord's side. A spell I invented called "me ipso separatum" or "Separate from myself", this allowed the me that went back in time to continue to live as though he were his own person but with my memories. We are the same person up until that point but after that, we are two completely different people."

Nott stared between Severus and the other Severus for a few seconds while his brain attempted to understand but it was pointless.

"Do you remember when I told you that your smarts would get us into trouble?" Nott asked as he rubbed his head.

"Yes," The two Severus' said at the same time and Nott whipped his head up to look between them again.

"Fucking hell. This is exactly what I meant." Nott growled out. While the Severus he wasn't familiar with actually laughed out loud causing Nott to look at him even more startled, making him laugh harder, his Severus merely twitched his lips. "So what should we call you, since Severus would be a little confusing?" Nott inquire, still looking quite stunned by Severus laughing.

"I go by Toby, actually, shortened from Tobias," Severus, or Toby said. Nott glanced at Severus and saw the familiar sneer on his lips at the mention of his father's name but he remained silent.

"Well Toby welcome—er—back?" Nott said sounding unsure as to how to greet the man. He turned his attention back to Severus, "You should get back to Hogwarts, check on your mate." Severus nodded slightly and walked forward.

"What's she like? How old is she? Why is she at Hogwarts? Is she a teacher?" Toby fired at them as they walked at Nott almost laughed out loud at how much this Severus was like Hermione. He grinned at Severus and raised an eyebrow as if to say, "Well, answer the man."

Severus turned back to Toby and said calmly, "It is—complicated." Then he rounded back on Nott when the man gave an amused snort.

"Is she a student?" Toby asked, catching on to Severus' unease and Nott's amusement.

"As I said, it's hard to explain," Severus replied. "You will stay here. She is going to have a shit fit enough with what she's been through never mind learning that there are two of me."

Nott snorted out his laughter again but stopped at a cold glance from Severus. He transformed into his bat form as Severus did and the pair of them took off out of the cave mouth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione opened her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar sight of the high arches of Hogwarts infirmary. She looked around the wing and saw a familiar patch of blonde hair sticking out of the blankets on the bed next to her. Checking to make sure that no one was coming she carefully climbed out of her bed, steadying herself when nausea and dizziness threatened to knock her back down, before creeping over to the other bed.

"Draco? Psst, Draco!" Hermione whispered as she prodded the boy. "Malfoy! Wake UP!" Hermione said louder and closer to his ear.

"Bloody hell woman, I'm sleeping." Draco groused as he rolled over to look at her. "What do you want Granger?"

"How did we get out of your father's house?" Hermione asked completely oblivious to the fact that Draco appeared to be naked under the sheet.

"Uncle Snape and Nott came and got us, now go away and let me sleep." Draco mumbled as he turned back over.

"Severus? He was there? Where is he now? Draco! Don't go back to sleep, honestly."

Draco growled in frustration but rolled back over to answer her, she sat back as he pushed himself up against the pillows making the blanket fall to his waist. They both seemed to realize that he was unclothed at the same time and Draco knocked her off the bed in his haste to cover himself up.

"Oomf—ouch you arse." Hermione complained as she sat back on his bed. "No need to knock me around." The dizzy feeling was back ten-fold but thankfully she didn't have the urge to vomit.

"Sorry," Draco grumbled. "Are you okay?" He asked as he took a closer look at her.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine. What about you?" Hermione responded.

"I'm fine," Draco answered her.

"You are not! Have you seen your chest? What the hell did they do to you? Your own father, what the hell is his problem?" Hermione raged, she tugged the sheet at his chest and pulled it away to inspect the brilliantly purple and black marks that spread across the front of his body. She reached out to touch the one on his shoulder when the hospital wing doors opened and Severus and Nott entered. Draco and Hermione whipped their heads around to look at them just as the two older men came to an abrupt halt at their position.

Hermione and Draco looked at each other, then down at her hand which was still outstretched towards his chest then back at each other before jolting away.

"Uncle Severus—"

"Severus, it's not how it looks—"

"I wouldn't ever think of her like that—"

"He's a friend—"

"But that's IT!" The two of them finished together on a yell and they promptly avoided each other's eyes.

Hermione chanced a look up at Severus but noticed Nott was shaking from suppressed laughter at his side, and the anger she expected to find on Severus' face wasn't present. Instead a cool indifference was there, which Hermione didn't think was any better, and his fists were clenched into balls. He turned around to leave the hospital wing in a hurry but Hermione called after him.

"Oh honestly, Severus, we almost died together. He's been beaten and bruised within an inch of his life and he's a friend. I wasn't groping him you big stubborn possessive bat so quit the dramatic temper tantrum and get over here because I need my mate!" By the time she had finished speaking she was yelling at Severus' back. For a moment she actually thought he was going to continue to walk away but he turned around with a scowl.

"You didn't like it when someone touched what was yours did you? Why should you be allowed a different privilege than I?" The words weren't shouted but Hermione flinched never the less, she rallied quickly however.

"Well, sure, I'd expect you to react the same way IF I HAD MY LIPS ALL OVER HIM!" Hermione shouted again but Severus' response was cut off by a bang. A very haggard and annoyed Madame Pompfrey was striding towards them in a night gown looking as terrifying as Voldemort.

"These two need rest! Now, Severus I can't tell you to leave as your mate is here, but you will not distress her or cause her anymore grief or else I will shove a sleeping draught down your throat." The elderly woman snapped, making Nott snort in amusement but she soon rounded on him. "Don't you laugh over there Theodore Nott, I am more than capable of doing it to you as well!" Nott and Severus both looked suitably chastised.

Hermione scowled at her friend and her mate before she turned onto her side away from then and lay down. Tears flew into her eyes as flashes of what had happened came back and the desire to be held was overwhelming but she bit her lip. She refused to show any weaknesses to the callous man that was standing behind her. How dare he think that she was groping Draco? How dare he throw that woman into her face? They were just making headway by being civil and now this, would anything ever be okay? She heard footsteps turn and leave the hospital wing, followed by a slamming down and she winced again.

"Damn stubborn man," Madame Pomfrey groused as she walked back towards her chambers.

Hermione felt a dip in the bed and a hand was placed on her shoulder forcing her to roll over, and she turned to see the familiar blue eyes of Nott sitting above her. More tears spilled from her eyes and a sob was torn from her lips.

"Hush now, stop crying. He's not really angry, at least not completely, he was worried Hermione, both about you being kidnapped and then finding you so close to Draco, in a bed." Nott said softly, his tone reproachful but not harsh. "Old fears resurfaced, you have to give him time and perhaps no more lying in bed with naked male's huh?"

Hermione sniffed and nodded, but allowed herself to be pulled into a bear hug. She buried her head in Nott's shoulder and let the last few days catch up to her making her sob uncontrollably. Nott simply held her tighter and began to rock her gently. Finally, when she had cried all her emotions out she fell in an exhausted sleep slumping against Nott's comforting hold.

~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus walked into his quarters with a firm scowl on his face and the image of Hermione sitting with a naked Draco on his bed. It was like dealing with Lily all over again, something that he could not and would not deal with for a second time. His angry tirade was interrupted however with the entrance of Nott, who looked equally as pissed.

"What the bloody hell is your problem?" Nott demanded before Severus could say anything.

"I don't have any idea what you mean."

"Oh no? Well how about I remind you, your mate, your MATE Severus was kidnapped, beaten, and put through more than she should but instead of comforting her like you should have you threw a temper tantrum."

"She knows how I feel about her touching men," Severus growled out.

Nott threw his hands up in the air. "Oh for the love of God, she was concerned! She would have done the same thing if I was lying in that bed. I had to comfort her Severus, me, that's not my job or my responsibility. It's yours."

"I know that thank you. Lower your voice; you're giving me a headache." Severus said wearily as he walked away.

"If you have a headache it's because your head is stuck so far up your ass that you're not getting enough air. You need to remember that she is not Lily. SHE IS NOT LILY SEVERUS! She has done NOTHING wrong to deserve your distrust and disrespect. So, either take you possessive jealous ass back up to that hospital wing or I'm going to go get Toby and let him comfort her." Nott shouted at his back before he turned and slammed out of the room again.

Severus was shocked at his friend's threat, but knew that the man meant what he had said. He considered ignoring him and going to sleep but instead he let out a sigh and walked back out of his quarters.

Upon entering the Hospital wing he saw that Hermione was sleeping, though not very soundly. She was whimpering quietly and flinching, whether because of her nightmares or because of her ordeal he didn't know. He quietly stepped over to the bed she was laying on and sat down on the mattress.

"N—nott?" She asked blearily as she blinked open her eyes.

Severus scowled even more but didn't comment. "No, it's me."

Confused, tired brown eyes met his and he saw a flash of anger before it was wiped out by exhaustion. "What—what are you doing here?"

"I thought perhaps you needed company, it seems I was mistaken, I'll leave now." Severus replied quietly, trying to keep his hurt and disappointment from his voice. He got up and turned to leave but she reached up to capture his hand.

"No, stay, please?" She whispered.

Severus turned back around to look at her face, her eyes were dropping with sleep but she gave a weak tug nevertheless. He sat back down on the mattress, only to have her tug on his arm again. "Hermione, I don't think—"

"Please?"

Her eyes were pleading as she looked into his face and he almost groaned at how whipped he was. He lay down beside her and wrapped his arms around her when she snuggled into his chest. He could feel her breath on his neck but found that it didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. Before he could fight it he was slipping into sleep soothed by the feel of his mate's heartbeat and her familiar smell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~XxXxXxX~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus woke up to the sensation of being watched and a weight on his chest. He opened his eyes to see that Nott was looking down at him with a raised eyebrow, amusement clearly written on his face. Somehow in the night he had shifted on his back and the weight on his chest was a slumbering Hermione who was using him as a mattress. His arms were wrapped around her to hold her to him and her face was still tucked into his neck, it was very comforting.

"Wipe that smirk off your face," Severus grumbled to Nott but there was no heat to it. He tried to shift Hermione back onto the bed but a growling stopped him.

"I don't think she wants you to move," Nott said, his amusement growing into silent laughter as Severus tried to move her again.

"Well, I can't stay here," Severus complained. "Hermione? Wake up." She didn't stir. "Hermione, you have to get off me." There was no movement, so Severus said loudly, "Miss Granger! Wake up!"

The effect was instantaneous, she shot upright and looked around saying, "I wasn't sleeping, I swear. I have my notes."

Severus grunted when her knee came into contact with his crotch and almost threw the girl off of him when she kneed his testicles. "Be still!" He growled in pain and frustration, when she continued to move.

"Severus? What are you doing here?" She asked as though she had just realized that he was there, in her bed, underneath her.

"You wouldn't let me leave last night, and you asked me to stay." Severus explained.

"After your jealous fit? Oh, I doubt that." She replied impishly.

Nott burst out laughing at the look Severus gave her; it was a cross between outrage and confusion. "Oh my god, I wish I had a camera."

"Shut up Nott!" Severus and Hermione said the same time.

"Why are you here in my bed?" Hermione asked him again and Severus looked back at her.

"You don't remember?" Severus inquired. At her head shake he sighed and gently pushed her off his body then stood upright. "I came here last night after I—"

"Acted like a child?" Hermione supplied.

Severus shot her a glare but continued on as though she hadn't interrupted. "After I left and you woke up, when I tried to leave you grabbed my hand and pulled me onto your bed."

"I thought you were Nott," The brunette explained. "I thought he was the one crawling into bed with me."

Severus opened his mouth angrily when he caught sight of her twitching lips as she tried to hold back a grin, then up at Nott who was positively quivering with laughter. He looked back down at his mate and glared before swooping down to capture her lips against his. She opened her mouth willingly and he plunged into her mouth to deepen the kiss. "Mine," He growled against her lips as he pulled back slightly.

She looked up at him with a grin and nodded her head, then glanced behind him to Nott. "Well, that worked didn't it?"

Severus looked down at her with a raised eyebrow then over at Nott who simply gave him an "I'm innocent" look. "You two are going to be the death of me."

Hermione's comment was cut off by the infirmary doors swinging open, Luna Lovegood walked into the hospital wing and towards them. Hermione and Severus both noticed how Nott perked up and smiled widely at her. Luna in turn, looked positively radiant at seeing Nott as well.

"Luna, what brings you to the infirmary?" Hermione asked.

"I wrackspurt told me to come here," Luna replied vaguely, glancing at Hermione before sliding her eyes back to Nott. "It's almost breakfast time, are you going to eat in the great hall?" The pale blonde asked. Hermione opened her mouth to reply but Nott cut her off, and she was surprised to see that Luna had been asking him in the first place.

"That depends, can I sit with you?" Hermione's jaw almost dropped at the blatant flirting Nott was doing. A red flush spread across Luna's face but she simply nodded her head then turned around and walked towards the exit.

"Nott, you don't—" Severus said but a quick glare from Nott shut him up.

"Hush now. You have a conversation to have with your mate about Toby." Nott quipped effectively shutting the other man up; he promptly turned and followed Luna out of the wing.

"Who is Toby?" Hermione asked and Severus felt the urge to go after Nott and strangle him.

"That is a very long story, that needs to wait until you are better and not in the hospital wing." Severus said, his tone made Hermione pause and not push him. His body language was stiff and uncomfortable, the way it was when he was angry or genuinely did not want to talk about something.

"You'll explain when I am out though?" Hermione pressed, but showed that she was not going to push him.

"Yes."

"Are you still upset about last night? I have no romantic or sexual interest in Draco, I may have before all this started but he is a friend." It was something that had been grating on the back of her mind since the day before but not something that she thought he'd be comfortable explaining.

Severus sighed and sat back down next to her, waiting till she was tucked against his side before he spoke. "This—relationship as well as having a mate is new to me. I am unsure as to how I am to react and conduct myself with you and about other things that seem harmless to you but reopen previously closed wounds."

"Because of Lily and James?" Hermione questioned and Severus felt shocked for a minute at the understanding tone that she used.

"I—How did you know about that?"

"Harry, he told Ron and I in 5th year about the memories he saw." There was an edge to her voice that made it clear to Severus that it wasn't a good idea to comment about his feelings on her friend.

"Yes, because of James and Lily. Lily was my childhood friend, a slip of my tongue—"

"Calling her a mudblood," Hermione clarified and felt Severus tense next to her.

Severus cleared his throat and then continued, "Yes. That was the reason, anyhow, Lily refused to talk to me regardless of the apologies that I attempted to give her. Deciding instead to take her vengeance on me by getting together with James, she knew it was the best and only way to get back at me for my slip of tongue. She—purposely allowed James and herself to be found, by me, in a compromising position. It's a sore spot for me." Severus finished his explanation more tense than he had been before explaining and more than slightly angry at the memory. He felt Hermione's gaze on his face and looked down to see a stunned look on her face. "What?"

"That's the most I've heard you talk about something personal in, well, ever." Hermione joked.

Severus' lips twitched in amusement at her observation and he kissed the top of her head gently. "Yes well, do not get used to it."

"What made you come back up here?" Hermione asked, feeling warmth spread through her at the affectionate kiss to her head.

"Nott."

"He forced you up here?"

"Not—exactly. He told me to remove my head from my posterior." At her snort of laughter he looked at her in a mock scold. "It was quite rude I assure you."

"You needed it, I—I don't want anyone else I thought you would have gotten that but clearly—"

"It's not a matter of me knowing or not, it's still going to be a fear because you can always choose to leave instead of staying with me." The absolute loathing that was present in his voice made her heart break for the past that she knew he had, but instantly resolved to never make him feel unwanted.

Madame Pompfrey came strolling up the ward towards them before she had a chance to respond so the opportunity to reassure him was lost. "Severus, you have classes starting in a half hour so you need to go get ready and Miss Granger here needs to take some more potions and rest." The older witch looked at her pointedly making Hermione blush under the scrutiny of her stare.

Severus got up and looked like he was going to kiss Hermione goodbye before he shook his head and left the ward leaving Hermione to stare after him longingly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione slept for the next few hours off and on thanks to the potions Madame Pompfrey had shoved down her throat. Professor McGonagall had come in just after Severus left to see how she was doing, but she didn't seem upset, she had joked that with Voldemort gone Hermione shouldn't be getting injured anymore. But after talking to Draco and getting his side of the story, the older witch's face had paled.

Hermione hadn't have the time or energy to get angry about her situation yet, but as the afternoon wore on and the potions she had taken had worn off, she had found herself getting more and more angry. Finally, when she had to talk to someone, she got back out of bed and pulled on the change of clothes a house-elf had brought her. She glanced around the infirmary looking for the medi-witch then snuck out of the ward when she didn't see her. Technically she was supposed to stay in the hospital for another 2 days at least until the damage to her ribs had healed fully but she was going stir-crazy. The sounds from the Great Hall told her that it was dinner time and she was assaulted by the wonderful smells of food as soon as she entered the great room. She didn't look up at the head table as she made her way towards Ginny, not wanting to see the reproachful scowl that would no doubt be on Severus' face when he noticed her.

"Hey Ginny," Hermione said nonchalantly as she sat down next to Ginny.

"Hermione, how are you? Wait, aren't you supposed to be in the hospital wing?" The redhead whispered to her. When Hermione shrugged her shoulders slightly as the older girl reached for a goblet of pumpkin juice, she continued, "Why are you out here? What's Snape going to say?"

Hermione shrugged again and began eating the food she had placed on her plate pointedly ignoring both the looks from her friend as well as the eyes she felt on her from the head table.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus had been about to take a drink from his goblet when a hard nudge to his ribs made him grunt in pain. He scowled over at Nott in anger but saw him looking at the Gryffindor table, his eyes followed his friend's gaze and felt his scowl deepen. The youngest Weasley was sitting next to Hermione, who was still supposed to be in the bed in the hospital, and he saw Hermione shrug. Miss Weasley's eyes looked up into his and she nudged Hermione, nodding in his direction once she had looked up. Brown eyes met brown and he saw Hermione flinch at the sight of his angry face glaring down at her.

"Isn't she supposed to be in the hospital wing still?" Nott questioned from next to him.

"Yes, she is." Severus answered through clenched teeth.

"Don't you wish you could spank her sometimes? She obviously wasn't spanked enough as a child or do you think that you'd enjoy it?" Nott teased and laughed out loud when Severus choked on his pumpkin juice.

"What did you mother do to you as a child?"

"The list is too long my friend; it would take years to talk about it all."

He kept his eyes on his mate throughout the meal, determined to intervene if she showed any type of weakness or dizziness. The time passed unexcitedly until he and Nott stood to leave the Great Hall when a glance at Hermione made him instantly start towards her. She was standing between Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood, the three of them making their way slowly to the double doors.

"Misses Weasley, Lovegood, and Granger, is there a problem?" Severus asked to the three of them but his eyes never left Hermione.

"She said she didn't feel good—" Ginny responded to him but jumped back when Hermione suddenly lost the food she had just eaten. Her eyes met his for a few seconds before they rolled back in her head and she slumped forward. Thankfully Nott had vanished her vomit so neither of them stepped in it as he caught her.

"She needs to go back to the hospital wing," Nott said but Severus was already headed there himself, Nott turned to kiss Luna on her head softly before following his friend down the corridor.

"What in the world?" Ginny asked from behind him.


	14. Reassertion

~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Hermione opened her eyes again it was to see herself, once again, looking up at the high vaulted ceiling of the Hogwarts infirmary. A heavy feeling on her chest made her frown but as she tried to lift her arms she realized that someone had placed a immobilizing charm on her. She scowled at the man sitting next to her bedside, rubbing his eyes as he woke up, then steel blue eyes met hers.

"Don't look at me like that!" Nott exclaimed when his heated gaze met Hermione's. "You're the one that escaped and then proceeded to vomit on the floor before dropping into unconsciousness for a week."

Hermione's jaw dropped open as she thought about the backed up homework she would have. "A week!?"

"Yes. Severus has been torn between sitting here and teaching. I'm only here because he had class and didn't want you sneaking out and dying in a corridor."

"He said that?" Hermione asked amused.

"Oh no, his words were, 'bloody Gryffindor's, if her life wasn't tied to mine I'd kill her myself.'." Nott replied as he stretched.

Hermione smirked and nodded, "That sounds more like him. What about my homework?"

Nott rolled his eyes at her in disbelief, "You wake up in the hospital wing and you're worried about homework? Not, I don't know, your mate being pissed?"

Hermione bowed her head guiltily, "No, I'm worried about that too, but my schooling is important to me!"

"I believe that Luna and Miss Weasley have been doing your homework," Nott said with a soft expression taking over his face at the mention of Luna's name.

"Luna huh?" Hermione prodded grinning widely.

"Oh shut up, you and Severus are the worst." Nott grumbled.

"What happened to, 'I'm never taking a mate. Being tied down by some broad for my whole life? No thanks." She teased him.

"Yeah well, there's no guarantee that that'll happen," Nott said quietly.

"Why? Did something happen?" She asked immediately feeling worry swell in her chest.

"No—yes. What girl wants to be tied to a man that's twice her age? An ex-Death Eater no less? Her whole future plans of any travel or 'happily ever after' would be gone. She doesn't want that, no one wants that," Nott said bitterly as he threw himself away from her bedside and the chair he had been sitting in.

Hermione watched him with a mixture of amusement and worry before she sat up slightly to lean against her pillows. "A girl who can see past the mark on your arm, a girl who knows that futures change based on what happens every day, and a girl that has been head over heels for you since she laid eyes on you." Nott stopped his furious pacing to look back at her, the self-hate look that had been on his face slid off. "Age is a factor, but not a huge one, or really even one that matters. Luna is smart; she knows that you aren't the person you were when Voldemort was around."

Nott flinched at the use of his old master's name but smiled regardless. "When did you get so smart?"

"When I was mated with a Potion's Master," Hermione quipped back, her face breaking into a smile when Nott laughed openly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus stopped outside the Hospital Wing doors when the sound of Hermione's laughter reached his ears. His eyes closed and his breathing relaxed as something in his chest unclenched at the sound, a sound he had missed without even knowing he had missed it. Nott's and Draco's laughter joined hers and he was shocked to find that the jealousy he had previously felt concerning the younger male was no longer present. He quietly opened the door and stepped in to survey the sight that greeted him.

Hermione and Nott were sitting side-by-side against the girl's pillows at the headboard with a still-healing Draco sitting at their feet facing each other. Hermione was talking and gesturing animatedly talking about something that had her smiling brightly. She looked better than she had in the last 3 weeks and Severus felt himself relaxing further. Nott said something he didn't hear but made Hermione slap his shoulder lightly before breaking down into peals of laughter. His mark tingled slightly as he walked towards them with the knowledge that it had been a few weeks since they had been together intimately. Mated bats didn't have to mate all the time, but continued intimacy was beneficial to both as it kept them healthy and their bond strong.

Hermione looked around at him as her mark started tingling and his breath stopped for a moment at the look of pure happiness and joy at seeing his that crossed her face. "Seve—Professor," Hermione called to him remembering where she was half way through.

"Hermione," Severus responded letting her know that it was okay to use his first name. She beamed at him and held her hand out to him. Nott moved to sit next to Draco as Hermione pulled him down next to her. He paused briefly before leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to her forward, when he pulled back she had an expression on her face that was between shock and pleasure. "Mister Malfoy, Nott," He said in greeting to the two men who were staring at him like he'd grown another head.

Hermione kicked Draco when he continued to stare at Severus with his mouth open. "Uncle," Draco said back as he glowered at Hermione and rubbed his leg slightly. "Damn Hermione, break my leg why don't you. Healing ribs not enough?"

Severus turned his head to see Hermione stick her tongue out at Draco and was reminded that the two fought like siblings. The two bickered back and forth while Severus sat quietly observing them; Nott would remain silent unless asked something or had a comment to provide. He felt a prickle of, not jealousy exactly, but envy at the ease with which the three interacted. Hermione and Nott hadn't known each other for very long, but the man had been there when she was healing and when he was being a prick. The relationship between her and Draco was the one that surprised him and made him question it. Draco had been a prat to her during school, more because of his parents and the genuine belief that the younger boy had that he was better than Hermione. It wasn't until after Hermione had punched him in the nose, and repeatedly shown that she was as good as or better than more purebloods that Draco had toned down his hate a little.

He was pulled out of his musing by a nudge of Hermione's elbow in his ribs. "Severus?"

"Yes?" Severus said looking at her, her eyes were foggy and he noticed that Draco had left to go back to his bed leaving Nott sitting at the end of the bed.

"I'm tir—" Hermione started but was interrupted by yawning. "I'm tired."

Severus nodded his head and made to stand but he was stopped when Hermione refused to release his hand. He looked at her in question and she was shaking her head at him. "You stay here." He raised an eyebrow at her but sat back down on the bed.

"I have to go to dinner and patrol," He reminded her, feeling his heart squeeze tightly when she released his hand and bowed her head.

"Right, I knew that. Of course, you have to leave," She said quietly, her voice shaking gently.

Severus frowned at her and then looked over at Nott who was looking around the infirmary clearly giving them some privacy, so he sat back down and tipped Hermione's face up to hers. When she continued to avoid his eyes he ducked his head to catch her gaze. "I'll come back once I'm done," He said quietly and she finally raised her eyes to his.

"It's fine. I understand that you have stuff to do, you don't want to have to stay here with me in the—" She argued but he dipped his head forward to capture her lips. It was a gentle chaste kiss but he felt desire and want flare through his system instantly and from the little gasp she gave she obviously had the same reaction.

He gently pulled away from the kiss trying to keep his breathing steady, and leaned his forward against hers, "I'll be back tonight," He promised and she nodded slightly with a dazed smile. He waited until she had lay down and gotten comfortable before he stood.

He motioned for Nott to walk with him and the two of them left the infirmary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~XxXxXxX~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nott and Severus were doing patrols that night chatting when McGonagall called to them.  
"Misters Snape and Nott," her voice snapped up the corridor making the two of them freeze and Nott hunched slightly.

Severus snorted in amusement as he turned to face the headmistress, "Yes Minerva?" Nott glared at him for a minute before facing the older woman as well.

"Mister Nott, do you still fly?" Minerva asked Nott who blinked at her a few times before she snapped her fingers. "Mister Nott, has your brain left you?"

"N—No ma'am, yes I still fly," Nott said uncertainly glancing at Severus who's mouth was twitching in amusement at his obvious discomfort.

"Excellent, Hogwarts is currently without a flying instructor. Would you care to instruct the class?"

Nott stared at her for a span of a few minutes before nodding dumbly. The older witch nodded approvingly before she promptly turned on her heel and left the two of them. Nott looked at Severus in shock and confusion and Severus looked back at him positively shaking with suppressed laughter. Nott scowled and growled at him in warning making his laughter fade, the sound of Severus' own warning growl pulled Nott out of his anger.

"Sorry," Nott apologized roughly, keeping his gaze averted from Severus'. They had suddenly switched from being two friends back to being alpha and beta, something that had only happened occasionally since Severus had stepped into the roll. Severus' growling didn't recede and Nott instantly transformed into his bat form to show his acknowledgement of Severus' reasserting. Severus gently nudged him with his foot and the growling stopped. An instant later he was standing as a man in front of his friend feeling his face burn red with embarrassment.

"What the hell?" Severus asked staring at him.

"I don't know, I'm not sure what triggered that," Nott admitted but avoided Severus' gaze.

"Yes you do, and you need to get it under control or so something about it," it was said as a command from both a friend as well as an alpha.

"What do you suppose I do Severus? Attack her randomly? That's your—" Nott's sentence was cut off as he found himself pinned against the corridor wall by his throat the growling noise back full force.

Severus warred with his human mind and his bat instincts for a very long five minutes as he held his long-time friend against the wall. With a lot of effort he finally managed to get both under control enough to stop the growling that was being emitted from his chest. With more effort he was able to step away from Nott and the other man fell to the floor as oxygen was returned to his brain.

"Whatever the fuck you need to do to fix it, do it." Severus snarled, and Nott looked up at him, the man he knew as his friend gone leaving the powerful alpha he had seen weeks before was back full force. He nodded slightly and watched as Severus turned on his heel to walk to the infirmary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione was released from the Infirmary two days later with a cleared bill of health but a strict command to take it easy. She walked into dinner and glanced up at the head table to see that Severus and Nott were both there, but weren't sitting near each other. Looking between the two men there was an obvious tension and anger. Severus's looked up and locked eyes with her, but when she raised her eyebrow and tipped her head towards Nott he shook his head before he lowered his gaze.

She frowned as she walked towards Gryffindor table to sit next to Ginny and Luna; the latter of the two had red rimmed eyes and wasn't eating. Hermione narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she leaned towards Luna. "What's wrong?"

Luna looked up at her, then up to the Head Table before dropping her gaze again and shook her head. "Nothing."

"Come on," Hermione said quietly and pulled Luna up from the bench and the two left the hall. She waited till they were back in Gryffindor common room on a couch before she repeated her question. This time Luna broke down as tears slipped down her face.

"Nott said that we needed to stop seeing each other. He used being a professor here as his excuse, said that apparently it was against the rules but not for 'alpha Severus'. Then he just turned and left, I tried to talk to him but he told me to leave him alone that he didn't want a mate least of all a teenage child." Luna wiped the tears from her eyes and Hermione felt herself shake with anger.

"Luna, I'm sorry. I thought that Nott was interested in you, I thought he wanted to be with you. I don't know why he would suddenly change that. Maybe he's just having a hard time, let me talk to him okay? Don't get your hopes up yet alright?" She waited until Luna had nodded before she turned around and left the common room again, she passed Ginny on her way but simply told the redhead to take care of Luna. She had some men to lecture and beat some sense into.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Hermione walked through the corridors back to the Great Hall in time to see Nott walking out of the double doors.

"Theodore Nott!" Hermione hissed as she approached him. The man tensed as he faced her but met her eyes with an unwavering glare.

"What Miss Granger?"

Hermione stopped abruptly and raised an eyebrow. "Miss Granger is it? Well fine then professor, I require your assistance on a matter." She walked forward and grabbed his wrist, ignoring his anger noise and began dragging him down an empty corridor. "Would you be so kind as to inform me why exactly you've suddenly decided that Luna is crying in her dormitory?"

She watched as Nott fixed his robes effectively avoiding her angry gaze and simply shrugged. It reminded her so much of Harry that she felt the insane urge to laugh hysterically at the motion but instead she crossed her arms. "You don't know? Well let's try this, you have gotten your head stuck up your arse and you're hurting her with your abrasive actions."

Nott's head whipped up and he pinned her with furious eyes. "You are out of line Miss—"

"Oh do shut up. You may be a professor Nott, but you're a friend and a bat first. As Severus' mate, you are also his second-in-command, which makes you also MY second-in-command. Now, answer the damned question."

"Merlin's beard you two are quite a pair, you both throw your weight around and expect everyone to bow to your will. I am not a goddamn school-boy you two think you can just boss around. Who I talk to and involve myself with and what I do, as long as it doesn't affect the others, is my damned business. If I want to make Luna my mate, I will damn well—"

"Oh, so you do want to be with Luna?" Hermione interrupted, effectively putting a halt to Nott's angry pacing. She almost giggled when his face turned a slight pink color.

"That's—No—I mean, you—But—"

"Oh Nott, you stupid stupid man," Hermione said quietly as she placed her hand on his arm. "What is the problem with that? You like Luna, you want to be with her, so why the harsh words?"

"Severus—," Nott said in a small voice, suddenly not looking like an ex-Death Eater but more like a little boy whose father took his favorite toy.

"What about him?"

"He said that because I'm a professor, I can't date or mate with a student here. Not that that stopped him from getting his grubby little wings all over you. Oh no, merlin help the person who brings THAT up to him." Nott grumbled, his anger beginning to swell inside him again as he resumed his pacing.

Hermione raised her eyes to the ceiling and prayed for strength, "Nott, listen to me, if you want to be with Luna—Be with Luna. I'll deal with Severus. What exactly happened while I was unconscious anyways? You two have been out of sorts for far longer than this."

"Severus's other half—" Nott stopped abruptly doing a very good impression of a ghost.

"Severus's what?" Hermione asked as her eyes narrowed.

"Um—Oh wow look at that? It's time for—um—me to go somewhere that is not here." She opened her mouth but he had already turned into his bat form and was flying quickly away from her. Her glared after him until she couldn't see him anymore then turned and went in search of her mate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus sat at his desk grading papers when his mark tingled, a flash of anger went through him a second before his door banged open revealing his out of breath, very furious looking mate. He watched her warily as she stalked towards him but kept his mouth shut.

"Just when were you going to tell me that you ORDERED NOTT NOT TO BE WITH LUNA?" She shouted angrily at him.

"I do not think it is any of your business," He stated calmly before going back to his grading.

"Excuse me?" He heard her hiss in a dangerously low voice. "Why is that?"

"It is a matter that was dealt with between Nott and me," Severus said as he put his quill down, his own anger starting to spike.

"Why is it your place to decide who he mates with?" He looked up at her to see that she was visibly trying to calm herself down.

"She is a student—"

"So am I," Hermione interrupted calmly.

"Yes, and we both see how easy it's been for me," He snapped back at her. The hurt that flashed across her face made him want to take the words back immediately. "Hermione—"

"Why did you even change me Professor?" She asked, and the appearance of his title made his heart hurt.

"We've been over this Hermione; I did it to save your life." He saw tears well in her eyes and was at a loss for why they were there.

"Right," She said, her voice cracking. "Is there someone else you want to be with Professor? Nott mentioned something about your 'other-half', maybe you should make her your mate." He stared at her blankly.

"We have already discussed Leighanne Hermione, why are you—"

"That's who you think of when I say your other half?" She asked in a small voice, she had bowed her head and was no longer looking at him.

Severus had never been so confused in his life, "What are you talking about Hermione?"

A sniffle echoed through the room before she answered him, "I was talking to Nott and he said that you two have been at odds with each other since your other half returned or showed up or whatever."

It suddenly dawned on him what she was talking about and he stiffened, anger at Nott flowing freely through his body. "I have not been with anyone but you Hermione," He said softly, his voice betraying the anger he felt. He got up and walked to where she was standing and placed his hand on her chin so he could tip her head up. He gently placed a kiss on her forehead and sighed lightly when she wrapped her arms around his body.

"Then what was he talking about?" She asked him from somewhere near his armpit.

"Something that I will explain later, when I know what to do about the situation," He answered vaguely. She pulled back to look up at him and their eyes connected, the brown depths of hers still held anger and hurt from his words earlier but they were no longer filled with tears. She reached up to cup the back of his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. It started out as a chaste touching of lips, but as soon as their lips touched their bodies reminded them how long it had been since their last mating.

Hermione gasped when she felt Severus' hands grip her hips and walk her backwards, but her mind and lips were too preoccupied in the searing kiss Severus' was bestowing upon her to pay attention to where they were going. When he pulled back finally she saw that they were standing in his quarters, about an inch from the bed. The look on his face was so endearingly uncertain that she pulled his head back down again and resealed their lips in a kiss. A growl echoed from his chest and he picked her up only to place her gently on her back on the bed. His hands came up to bury themselves in her hair and he tugged gently, making her head tip back. She moaned softly as his lips left hers and trailed across her jaw to the sensitive spot behind her ear. Goosebumps erupted across her flesh when he breathed into her ear, his hands trailed down her side to the hem of her shirt and slipped underneath her shirt to the soft flesh hidden away beneath the fabric.

Severus pulled away from her neck so he could pull her shirt up over her head, then reapplied his lips to her shoulder slowly kissing his way down until his progress was impeded by her bra. He pulled her up to slip it off, but found himself momentarily distracted when she pressed her mouth hard against his. She nibbled on his lower lip making him groan and her hands pushed his outer robes off his shoulders, and then moved to the buttons on his shirt. Their tongues warred with each other as they rid each other of the last of their clothing. Her jeans were thrown carelessly behind him, and his shirt was dropped onto the floor beside the bed.

Severus pulled his lips from hers, taking a moment to enjoy the way her face was flushed with desire and her kiss swollen lips before he lowered his head to her breast and pulled the nipple into his mouth.

Hermione arched her back and cried out at the pleasure that shot from her breast to the area between her thighs. Her hand came up to tangle in Severus' hair in an attempt to hold him in place; he nipped lightly at the swollen peak of her left breast before he moved to the right one to give it the same treatment.

"Severus—please—," Hermione whimpered as she pushed against his shoulders trying her get him to move downwards. She gave a chuff of frustration when he simply hummed in response but it quickly changed to a moan when she felt his fingers slip between her lips, carefully avoiding her swollen clit.

"What is it you want?" He asked her, his breath tickled her clit making it throb painfully.

"You, tongue, please—," She panted desperately. She squirmed when he blew a breath onto the desperate nub of flesh that was eagerly seeking his touch.

"As you wish," He said and that was the only warning she had before his lips closed around her nub of flesh and sucked. She felt her back arch as pleasure shot up her spine and then back down to the place that was being lovingly sucked on. Severus welcomed the pain in his shoulders as her nails gripped the flesh there when he slipped two fingers easily into her tight sheath. A few sucks and finger curls later, he heard her moan his name as she climaxed into his mouth.

Hermione rode the waves of satiated pleasure roughly aware that Severus had pushed himself up and used her own release to slicken his penis before pressing into her. He hissed in pleasure as he felt the aftershocks of her orgasm grip his penis tightly. Their lips met again in a hard but tender kiss as he pulled his hips back and then plunged into her body again. The pace he set was quick, driving them both towards fulfillment far quicker than either of them wanted but they hadn't been intimate in so long that their bodies weren't able to hold out.

Severus felt his release shoot up his spine and he tore his lips from Hermione's to lower them to her shoulder, sucking and licking at the skin there as he felt her tighten around him again. He felt her lift up seconds before a fleeting sharp pain shot across his chest. Pain and pleasure mixed together and shoved him over the edge just as he heard her cry out. He collapsed to the side and pulled her into him, both silent as they let their bodies calm. Both gasped when their marks seared hot but the pain was gone as quickly as it had come, leaving them the slip into sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nott stood outside the castle looking out over the grounds, thoughts as wild and untamed as the animals wandering in the forest. The snap of a twig pulled him out of his thoughts and he spun around wand at the ready pointed at the face of a blonde girl. He breathed out sharply as he put his wand away glowering eyes not leaving his.

"You shouldn't be out here," He said coldly, his heart pounding in his chest. The other person tipped her head to the side as she stepped forward, leaving only a small gap between them.

"Neither should you," a dreamy voice said, Nott closed his eyes as it seemed to wrap around him, making him think of home and safety.

"I am a professor," Nott said as he opened his eyes, the color had changed to red, as he fought every instinct in him.

"So you've said," Came the reply. His body shuddered as gentle hands wrapped around his waist and the owner tipped her head up to look into his eyes. He searched them for signs of fear or repulsion but he saw only love and acceptance tinged with desire. His nostrils flared as her smell surrounded him, begging him to let her in.

"Why me? Why bother with someone twice your age that is set in his stubborn ways?" He asked imploringly, trying to understand.

Her hand came up to cup his cheek, surprisingly warm against his chilled skin, "The heart wants what it wants – otherwise it does not care." The words were barely out of her mouth before he crashed his lips into hers. Finally giving in to the desire, the want, the overwhelming instinct he had been struggling with for the many months since he'd met her. He backed her up until they ran into the wall behind her and he tore his lips from hers.

"Walk away Luna, you still have a choice," He whispered, his voice wrecked from passion and hope that she wouldn't leave.

"I don't need one," She responded simply. He looked at her, his eyes searching hungrily over her face but found no doubts upon the smooth pale skin so he lowered his head slowly and claimed her, changing both of their lives forever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	15. Slumbers and Strangers

Hermione walked towards Severus' quarters with dread in her stomach. The topic they needed to have a talk about wasn't exactly going to be butterflies and roses; guaranteed Severus was going to throw a canary. She pushed open the door to his classroom and proceeded towards the door she knew lead to his rooms, not pausing until she was standing before his work desk he was sitting at.

"Why do I get the feeling that whatever you're about to say is not good?" Her mate asked dryly without looking up from his markings.

"Well…it's not necessarily bad but not really good either," Hermione stalled and she fiddled with the sleeve of her robes.

"Well spit it out," Severus said but it was without heat. He patiently waited until Hermione had gathered her wits and got her thoughts together.

"Ithinkishouldtellharryandronaboutusbecausetheyrem ybestfriends," Hermione blurted out quickly.

Severus stared at her for a moment with amusement on his face, "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Hermione huffed out an impatient breath and flounced over to an armchair that sat in front of the fire. She threw herself into the chair and curled into a ball before repeating herself. "I think I should tell Harry and Ron about us because they're my best friends."

Total silence met her words and they seemed to echo around the room ominously. She picked at a piece of string on her pants as she waited for Severus to answer her, but after a few minutes of nothing she glanced up through her eyelashes. The chair where he had been sitting was empty and spinning slightly. "What the—"

"I would have thought you had already told them," Severus' voice said from behind her making her jump slightly and scowl at him.

"Must you walk like a damn mouse all the time?" She snapped at him, and then scowled more when he smirked at her. "And what do you mean 'I would have thought you had already told them'? You said I wasn't allowed to tell anyone, in fact the last time I broached the subject you just squawked about how 'bloody Potter and his dumbassery."

Severus gave a snort of laughter as he walked back to his desk and sat down. "Hermione, I am never going to like Potter or Weasley nor am I particularly pleased that they'll be privy to anything to do with me but I assumed you would have told them by now. Furthermore, I have never 'squawked'."

Hermione rolled her eyes but remained silent as she followed his path coming to lean against his desk next to him. She started picking at her cuticles as she absorbed this information and felt decidedly unsure footed with his easy answer. Her mouth opened to say something but his door burst open to reveal Nott striding towards them.

"I've made Luna my mate," Nott said shortly. Hermione blinked at him with her mouth open while Severus slowly put his quill down. A pain in her shoulder shooting down her spine knew the anger was coming before he exploded.

"I forbade you to do that Nott," Severus yelled as he stood so quickly that his chair hit the wall behind him. "I explicitly told you not to do that while she was under your care and you disobeyed me!"

"Yes I did, because it's not your choice, it is MINE," Nott yelled back at him. "She will be a student here for a few more months and then she will graduate. I will not forfeit my happiness for the pack and I certainly won't forfeit hers because of you. If it's going to be that much of a problem I will leave the pack."

Hermione looked between Severus and Nott both who were glaring viciously at each other. She laid her hand on Severus' arm and when he tensed she thought he would throw her off but instead he sighed out angrily. "Give us a minute Hermione, I'll see you later."

Hermione looked between the two men before she nodded and left, pausing to squeeze Nott's hand briefly.

~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus waited until the door had shut behind Hermione before he turned his furious gaze back on Nott. "You went against my instructions, you've now put not only yourself in danger, but you've also put the rest of our pack in danger." Nott opened his mouth but snapped it shut at Severus' growl. "If you get called before the Ministry for sexual relations with a student your status as a bat will be revealed and so will mine."

"What if you get caught huh? You're an ex-Death Eater and the leader of an elite pack. What happens to you if that happens? You lose your job, and cast the same light I would." Nott snarled out. Severus had him pinned to the wall in an instant and was growling again.

"I am the alpha, not you. Which means the decisions and orders I give are to be followed, immediately and without question," Severus snapped out, the growling he was emitting making his voice rumble.

"Your status as alpha does not make you exempt from the rules," Nott replied around the arm cutting across his neck. "As your beta I am here to remind you of that."

Severus sneered at him and snarled at him viciously once more before removing himself from Nott's body. "I am aware that I am not exempt from the rules, I am simply more prepared to deal with the consequences than you. If you want to put yourself on the line and risk both yourself and her, fine then, do it but do not expect my protection when it goes badly."

"Of course not, why would I look to my oldest friend? Especially when he has his head planted firmly up his rectum." Nott yelled at him before he turned on his heel and slammed out of Severus' quarters. Severus watched him go and pinched his nose between his fingers when the door slammed behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione was leaning against the stairs nearest Severus' classroom when Nott stormed into sight, his eyes landed on her and he sighed.

"Not now Hermione," Nott sighed out but stopped in front of her when she stood.

"Give him some time to calm down Theo, don't do anything hasty," she pleaded with him. Nott searched her face for something before he gave a short nod.

"I have been his friend and companion for a long time, I know how he can be but he makes me so—angry."

Hermione laughed, "Join the club."

"Or the pack," Nott said dryly and Hermione dissolved into giggles.

"I'm happy for you, and for Luna, she was pretty broken up with your actions," Hermione scolded lightly.

"I know, and I apologized, you haven't been in this world long enough to know how it works. The alpha's word is law, if you disagree or go against it, you leave. Maybe I should still leave," Nott's tone was heavy with stress and sadness making Hermione want to hug him.

"Give it a few weeks, if he hasn't come around by then, then decide, but don't act rashly until then. You have a safe place to sleep, you're near your mate, and you have a job. Severus' anger isn't worth giving that up until you know it's dire." Nott nodded at her words and she smiled warmly at him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~SSHG~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus didn't turn around when his door opened again, nor did he make any move to put his shirt on when Hermione walked towards him. He gazed into the fire as she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed a kiss to his spine.

"You care for him," Her voice said as she laid her head on his shoulder. He felt the tension drain out of him at her words and soothing tone.

"He's the closest thing I have to a brother, I've known him for a long time," Severus said softly not removing his eyes from the flames.

"Then why not allow him to be happy?" The quiet question made him turn in her hold and look down at her. He looked over her face memorizing the changes and all the things that endeared her to him. The unruly curls, the smattering of freckles on her cheeks and nose, and her honeyed eyes that seemed to search his soul, all things that made him love her.

"It is dangerous to get involved with a student while you're still a teacher," Severus explained, he pressed a finger against Hermione's lips when she opened her mouth. "Yes, I am a teacher and you are a student as well but I am prepared to handle those fallouts. Nott, while rough and hardened on the exterior, is still the little boy seeking acceptance on the inside."

Hermione searched his eyes for a moment before speaking, "And what of your want to be accepted?"

Severus sighed softly and pulled Hermione into a hug, he pressed a kiss to the crown of her hair before replying. "I have long accepted my fate in that regard. Whilst I have a mate by my side who loves me as I love her, acceptance is unimportant."

The smile he received from Hermione was stunning in its quality and made him return one of his own. He gently tipped her head back and pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss, it evolved into something more when she opened to him willingly and sighed. The dull roar of lust that always was present when they touched returned but with a less intense quality since their last coupling was not far past. He broke the kiss to lead her to his bedroom waiting until they were in front of his standard issue bed before initiating another kiss. His hands came up to tangle with her hair and he deepened the kiss, their tongues warred and caressed each other with comfortable ease. They ended the kiss to pull shirts, bra, and waistcoat off which were carelessly tossed aside. He pressed Hermione back until she was able to lay back on the bed and slide up. Her pants and his quickly followed their shirts on the floor as they once again joined their mouths.

He licked and nipped his way down her neck until he came to a rest at her breasts, pausing he lathered them with love until they were dark and hard before he moved on to better things. His nostrils flared when her natural scent assaulted his senses and he pressed a light kiss against her outer lips as he shouldered her knees apart. If he were to look up, he knew he would see Hermione covering her eyes with her hands, face glowing with embarrassment. He hooked his hand behind her knee to place it over his shoulder so that he could reach his goal. Her lips were dewy, her clit released from his pink sheath begging for his attentions. The first swipe of his tongue across the slit caused an instinctual thrust of her hips but then she calmed slightly. The sight of his fingers slipping into her body made his erection throb with need. He had always heard of males using their mates, taking their own pleasure and caring little for their counterparts own needs. The sight of Hermione writhing and panting as he brought her to the peak of pleasure with his mouth and hands made him wonder at that again. What sight was better than his mates heaving chest, flushed red with arousal, begging for release? Watching her come undone in his arms made his own reactions sweeter. He climbed up her body, ignoring the whimper of protest at the loss of his mouth, and watched his penis disappear into her. She was wet and warm around him, and he was forced to lay his head on her shoulder when he was seated to the hilt to get a grip on his arousal. He lifted her leg to wrap around his hip and held the other one behind the knee pressing up lightly to drive deeper. Their fingers tangled together as he bore his weight onto his hand next to her head and their eyes locked in a sizzling gaze.

The pleasure was too good, the draw of her body to great, and he soon felt himself teetering on the edge of oblivion. Sharp nails dragged down his back adding to the pleasure as she arched and clenched around him crying out his name breathlessly. His forehead met hers as he tipped over after her and his hips gave stuttered thrusts forward as wave after wave of release tore its way out of his body. The slightly wince she gave when he released her knee wasn't lost on him and he gently pulled free of her body, before walking to his bathroom to get a potion.

Hermione stared as he walked away, her body still buzzing from her orgasm and her mind quietly sated. She admired the way his arse flexed with his strides and the way his muscles shifted as he moved around the room. He handed her a pain potion and she smiled sleepily at him as it took effect, making her body feel heavy and her mind cloud. She was vaguely awake as he pulled the covers over her body and kissed her forehead before whispering something about grading. His chuckle meant that she had given a reply but she could not remember what it was.

~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~

She bolted upright gasping as she came awake, the remnants of her nightmare slipping from her mind. Gentle snores and the heat next to her told her that Severus had come to bed sometime in the night. She lay back down and tried to remember what her dream had been about, but the last of the pain potion and the soothing sounds of Severus' breathing made the faint memory of a man who shared her mates face hard to grasp. The call of sleep was too strong to ignore and her last thought before she succumbed to slumber once again was what a stranger thing to dream of.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

It had been a month since she had asked Severus about telling Harry and Ron about them and she was no closer to a way to tell them than she was before. It wasn't like she could just stroll up to them in Gryfindor common room and say, "Hey, Snape is really a bat, and he bit me during the war and I'm his mate. What's for dinner?" That would turn out very badly indeed so she mulled over her options as she got dressed for the day.

As it turned out, the decision was taken out of her hands quite abruptly thanks to Harry's complete inability to resist the temptation to eavesdrop. She had just settled in to enjoy her coffee at the breakfast table in the Great Hall when Harry and Ron sat down across from her. A glance at the pair of them showed their faces in twin looks of disgust and anger.

"Er—Good morning," Hermione said calmly quietly wondering what the hell their problem was.

"Don't give us that, when were you going to tell us?" Ron hissed at her making her eyebrow raise without conscious thought.

"Tell you what exactly?" She questioned as she looked between the two of them. Harry's face was a mixture of hurt betrayal, and disgust, the look made something heavy settle in her stomach.

"How's your shoulder feeling lately 'Mione, any marks we should be aware of?" Harry spoke for the first time and the heated tone of his voice made her flinch slightly.

"What are you—"

"Did you know that portraits are horrible gossips, and really unconcerned about who hears them?" Harry snapped out over her sentence and the heavy feeling in her stomach hardened leaving her feeling slightly dizzy and nauseous.

"Snape, Hermione! What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Ron snarled at her no longer bothering to keep his voice down.

Hermione sat her cup of coffee down with shaking hands then clutched them in her lap before she said quietly, "I can explain."

Ron laughed humorlessly, nastily, as Harry retorted, "That's an explanation I'm just dying to hear Hermione, its Saturday, now is a perfect time for it." He and Ron stood from the bench and she had no choice but to follow, feeling and ignoring, the multiple sets of eyes on her as she left the hall.

XXxxXXxxXXxx

Explaining to the boys took the better half of the morning and after they had left, she'd stayed by the lake long after the lunch bell had sounded. The situation had been hard to get through especially with Ron turning all different shades of red before finally paling so badly that she was worried he'd faint. Harry had been stoically silent through it all, letting her explain only interrupting with a handful of questions, before dragging Ron back up to the castle with a parting "see you later".

"Thinking of drowning yourself in the lake," A familiar voice said from behind her and a reluctant grin slipped across her face. She turned to see the tall blonde haired form of Draco standing behind her. His gray eyes looked a little more lined than they had when she'd last seen him, but that was to be expected. A scar cut across his eyebrow splitting it in two, but far from marring his looks, it only seemed to enhance them. "Sixth year I thought about it a lot, didn't imagine my life could get any better."

Hermione watched him as he sat down next to her, and then wrapped an arm around his waist in a brief hug. He returned it and pressed a kiss to her forehead before turning his attention back towards the murky water. "I told Harry and Ron about Severus and I. They took it about as well as you would expect."

"I'm grateful to them, and you, for the things you did for me after the war, but I still think they're denser than a granite slab." Draco smirked at her, making her grin ruefully and slap his arm. "How're you and Uncle Severus?"

She felt her face heat but looked up at the darkening sky instead of meeting his eye. "Some days we're good, really good, we've settled into our bond more and are more in-tune with each other. Then there are other days where I think about the future, about all the dreams I had before all this, and I can't help but wonder what my life will be like in a few months, let alone years. He's still at odds with Nott, and I hate that. I hate that he's so—"

"Thick?" Draco supplied helpfully and she nodded in agreement.

"I think the thought of Nott having a mate scares him, if Nott has a mate, he has this new future that Severus might not be a part of. Which is completely daft since Nott loves him like a brother but there are issues there that are a decade or so in the making." She stopped talking suddenly and closed her eyes. "Quit hiding in the shadows."

Draco jumped slightly as Severus stepped out of the shadow behind the tree to lean against it. His black eyes flickered between the two of them before coming to rest on him. "Draco, it's good to see you recovered."

"Thank you Uncle," Draco replied solemnly as he stood and gave Hermione his hand to help her up as well. "I'll see you around Hermione, stay out of trouble." He gave her a quick hug and a parting nod to Severus before walking away into the forest.

Hermione raised her eyebrow at Severus when her mate turned back to her, but the look of feigned innocence on his face made her laugh. "Really Severus, aren't we past the jealousy stage?" She teased gently a small smile letting him know she was joking.

The arms that wrapped around her were unexpected but not unwelcome and she buried her face in his shoulders letting his scent of herbs and earthy spices loosen the knot that had sunken into her stomach. Suddenly the weight of the situation bore down on her, tears filled her eyes and slipped down her cheeks before she could stop them. She felt him shift and pulled her tightly against him before pressing his lips to her hair, the move made her cry harder and soon she was sobbing into his shoulder. She wasn't sure how long they had stood there, him holding her and her wetting his shoulder but when she pulled back her eyes had to adjust to the darkness.

"Sorry I got snot on your robes," was the first thing she said and then chuckled wetly at his exasperated look. She leaned up for a kiss and frowned when she received one on her forehead instead.

"You have snot and tears on your face, while I am certainly not complaining about mixing our bodily fluids; you will have to clean your face before I kiss you." The tone of his voice accompanied with the look of mild disgust on his face caused an unladylike snort from her. The snort turned into a chuckle, which turned into a full out laugh until she was holding onto his arm to keep herself standing. His, "When you're quite finished," caused more laughter. He huffed and scowled at her until she had herself under control.

"Oh Merlin, my emotions are all over the place," She complained as she wiped her eyes.

"You are getting close to your monthly cycle," He said blandly and she gaped at him. "What?"

"How do you know that?"

"You smell," the simple reply came making her squawk indignantly.

"I most certainly do not," She shrieked taking satisfaction in his wince before she turned away from him prepared to leave when his hand on her arm stopped her.

"It is not unpleasant; I am the only one that can smell it, as I am your mate. It is your body's way of letting me know it is fertile and in its prime for impregnation."

"There will be no impregnation!" Hermione said weakly after she had stared at him for a few minutes.

He gave her a look that clearly said "Obviously" before he transformed into a bat and took off into the night sky. A few moments later she had shifted and flew off after him letting out a happy call which he answered with his own.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Severus woke Monday to an unpleasant tingling on his shoulder from his mark, the distress of Hermione was echoing through his mind as well as his body making him tense in bed. He breathed out slowly as the pain ratcheted up setting his teeth on edge before it faded away to a dull throb. A quick wave of his hand showed that it was 5:50 in the morning, a whole 3 hours before he actually needed to be awake for classes and he felt a scowl form on his face before he could stop it.

It was still in place when he entered the Great Hall, and a quick glance down at the Gyrffindor table showed that he wasn't the only one with a scowl. His mate appeared to be trying to kill the bacon on her plate as though it wasn't already dead. A look further along the table showed Potter and Weasley, Weasley had a rag clutched to his bloodied nose and the situation suddenly became clearer. He felt his eyes narrow slightly over his coffee mug as Potter stood and walked down to where Hermione was sitting. The boy tried for several minutes to talk to his friend but she resolutely refused to meet his eyes so he gave up and went back to his breakfast. Hermione sat for a few more minutes glaring at her plate before Miss Lovegood walked over to her; they conversed for a minute or two, and then left the hall together. Severus felt eyes on him and a glance to his left showed Nott staring at him with something close to solemn confusion on his face. He gave a tiny shake of his head before turning back to his coffee; there were some things that would never make sense, like witches.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

"—and I hit him because he's such a pompous arsehole that I just lost it. I mean, what the bloody hell does he think this is? That I'm doing this just to torture him? It's not like I asked for it."

"Pompous arseholes? Talking about me again?" Nott's voice said from behind Hermione and Luna. Luna immediately brightened and turned around to face him but Hermione scowled at the wall.

"Theo—Professor Nott, how are you today?" Luna's dreamy voice said with a gentle tip of her head. Hermione bit her lip at her friend's slip-up but stayed silent.

"Tired, Miss Lovegood, I didn't rest much over the weekend," Nott replied with a mocking sadness in his voice. Hermione laughed as Luna's face flushed red, an unspoken communication must have occurred because Luna suddenly said, "I'll see you in class Hermione" and she was gone.

Nott leaned against the wall next to the window she was sitting in and looked at her steadily until she finally cracked.

"Ron asked if my good grades in potions were due to being Severus' slutty mate. I punched him. Harry looked torn between hitting him and laughing at Ron's expression." Hermione grumbled moodily.

"I'm sure your monthly has nothing to do with it," Nott commented. A ringing silence met his words causing him to look up at Hermione who was flushed red.

"How does everyone know when I'm on my period, honestly," Hermione snapped angrily.

Nott tapped the side of his nose gently, "Heightened sense of smell."

"Severus said only he could tell though," Hermione grouched. Wonderful, every bat in the world could tell she was ovulating. How wonderful.

"He's your mate, of course he can smell it, no others should be able to however."

"Except you."

"Yes," Nott said as he tipped his head to look at her. "But you forget that I was there when you were changed, and in the months afterwards, I know your scent almost as well as Severus'. I also could tell because Severus' scent on you is stronger."

Hermione thought about all the touching Severus had been doing over the last few days. "Marking me again?"

"In essence, yes. Bats are very territorial of their mates, probably has something to mating for life, but that doesn't mean that challenges don't arise. By keeping his scent on you, other male bats with smell it and essentially know that you come with a very jealous mate." Nott explained with a smirk.

"Is that why you and he were fighting before you and Luna—"

"Partly. I was an unmated male that shares a close relationship with his mate, he felt challenged without me actually challenging him."

"I don't think I'll ever fully grasp this bat stuff," Hermione said with a sad sigh. "Are all bats born bats, or can they be turned like werewolves?"

"Almost all are born, someone only turns if they're made the mate of a bat. In some cases though, there are mates who have grown apart or are separated by other reasons and they can take other mates. It is very rare though, there's only one or two cases I am aware of."

"Seems like an awful big gamble, for anyone, how did Severus know that I would be receptive?"

"He didn't, but he's always been the man that can't stand by while others are hurt."

"How do I even know how I would feel without this interference?" Hermione thought out loud, voicing long dormant insecurities but Nott was shaking his head before she'd finished speaking.

"That's not how it works; it doesn't create something that doesn't already exist. Being his mate doesn't make you love him, it doesn't make you want to be near him, and you're his mate because those feelings were already in existence before no matter how small."

Hermione opened her mouth to reply but the bell signaling the first class of the day cut across her retort. She gave him a smile and left, her head still buzzing with the new information she'd been given.

xxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxx

Severus didn't glance up from his work as Hermione entered his quarters and strolled towards him with a determined gait. She came to a stop in front of his desk and waited for her to speak, when no words seemed forthcoming he sighed as he set his quill down and gave her his full attention.

"How did you know that I fancied you before you marked me?" She said without preamble, and he was actually surprised the question hadn't surfaced before now. "More bat voodoo?"

"Bat voodoo? Really Miss Granger," Severus said with amusement clear in his voice. "I was the only teacher you strove to impress," He held up her hand as she made to interrupt. "You also lowered your wand in the middle of a battle when you realized it was me. Even after my apparent betrayal to Dumbledore, you didn't attack; your first instinct wasn't to attack. That is how I knew."

His mate stared at him for a moment before she slumped into the armchair placed by the fire. Regardless of it being April, she was chilled and shivered as the coolness of the room and the heat of the fire caressed her skin. Severus bent his head back to his work as the silence stretched not looking up again until soft snored reached his ears. He allowed a small smile to spread across his lips as he stood and walked over to where Hermione had fallen asleep curled into a ball. He placed a kiss to her forehead gently, and frowned at the heat that met his lips. He inhaled deeply and received his answer for the fever, with a quiet snap of his fingers his mate disappeared from the armchair to be delivered into her bed. As he turned back to continue his marking he braced himself for the moodiness that would engulf his mate over the next week.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Hermione woke in the night sweating, her insides twisting in pain so badly that tears sprung to her eyes. She stumbled to the loo to clean the stickiness she felt between her legs, when she was cleaned and climbing back into bed the glint of a vial caught her eye. Next to her bed was a vial of pain potion and a huge hunk of Honeydukes chocolate with a note that said, "I'll give you more in the morning."

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX


	16. A Traitor's Attack

If there was going to be an indication that Hermione was going to be affected by her new menstrual cycle, her walking late into Potions and glaring at him so viciously that he would have been ash if looks could kill was definitely an indication.

Severus watched as she walked into his classroom four minutes late, never taking her furious gaze off of him as she walked to her station and set her cauldron down with a slam. The students in the class were torn between gaping in shock and trying to get away from her as inconspicuously as possible.

"You're late Miss Granger," He said far more gently than he would have before.

"Give me a detention then sir," came her harsh reply. Severus blinked at her a few times before he felt a flicker of anger.

"50 points from Gryffindor for being late, and a detention for your tone Miss Granger, I am your professor," Severus hissed at her, which earned him another vicious glare and a shooting pain down his shoulder. The next 10 days were going to be hell, pure unadulterated hell.

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Hermione cut her ingredients for her potion with much more aggression than was absolutely necessary, but she kept imagining the cutting roots were her slicing Severus' limbs off, starting with his prick. This wasn't a normal period; this was like a period from hell. It felt like someone was taking a knife and just randomly stabbing her in the uterus. She never did understand why her uterus had to throw a temper tantrum every month she didn't impregnate it. Tears welled in her eyes when a particularly horrible cramp caused her to gasp slightly. The feeling of eyes on her made her look up from her work into the concern filled black eyes of her mate. Her classmates were focused on their work so she raised her chopping knife and pointed it at him. He raised an eyebrow at her but turned back to his walk around the classroom, stopping every so often to berate students for blunders and mishaps.

"Miss Granger, your potion doesn't appear to be at the stage it needs to be," She heard from her left but simply hummed her acknowledgement. "Is there a reason you seem to be unable to complete your work?"

Hermione placed the knife down on the table very slowly, before lifting her gaze to meet his, "No professor." She continued to stare at him with slightly narrowed eyes until he rolled his and walked away with a, "You can redo it tonight in detention. 10 more points from Gryffindor."

The rest of class passed with shooting glares from her, and concerned exasperated looks from him while the other students weren't looking. Finally the bell rang signaling the end of class and there was a rustle of movement as everyone packed up to go to their next class.

"Miss Granger, stay behind please," Professor Snape's voice called over the noise. They waited in silence as her classmates filed out of the room, staying silent until the last person had shut the door. Severus looked over at Hermione who was continuing to glare at her table as though it had done her serious insult and sighed gently. "Herm—"

"Don't you 'Hermione' me mister, I had to deal with my body changing, my sense of smell and taste changing, and all sorts of other shit, and now I have to deal with my uterus throwing a bloody temper tantrum because you won't put batty babies into it." Hermione snarled at him, clenching her fists at her side and scowling at him.

Severus started towards her, but when a growl echoed from his mate he stopped knowing not to push her too hard. He withdrew a pain potion and another chocolate bar and placed them on the table next to him. She zeroed in on them as she walked towards the table, but turned her narrowed eyes on him as she slunk over. When she had taken the pain potion, and eaten half the chocolate bar he chanced reaching his hand out to gently stroke her forehead. A sigh of relief escaped him before he could stop it when she stepped into him and pressed her face into his chest inhaling deeply.

"Mmmphfy," he felt more than heard her mumble.

"Pardon me?"

"Okay, you're pardoned." Hermione said cheekily as she looked up at him, a giggle escaped her at his reproachful look, but she sobered quickly. "I'm sorry. My hormones are all over the place, I can't even try to get a grip on them. Why are they so bad this time but not on my other periods?"

"Female bats, especially if they're mates and not born, have a mating session every 6 months that last for 10 days. It's during this time, if we were to have sex, you would most definitely get pregnant. My body, as your mate, senses and shifts during that time to ensure that I am also more fertile." He said it clinically and ignored the faint blush that swept his mates cheeks.

"By shifts you mean—"

"That I am increasingly grateful that it is already my custom to wear multiple layers of clothing." Hermione blushed harder but also laughed at the eye roll that accompanied his words.

"Is it really that bad?" She asked as she gathered her bag.

"I am able to control it," was the only response she got. Severus gave her a quick kiss on the forehead then shooed her out of his classroom. Once she had exited the room, he took a dozen deep breaths, and scowled down at his erection straining happily against his pants.

XxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

When Hermione walked into detention at 7:59 that night, there was another pain potion and hunk of chocolate already waiting for her at her station with a note that informed her Severus was collecting ingredients from the forest. She smirked to herself, it was probably an excuse to get away from her, relieve some of the tension he must be feeling. The smirk faded at the thought that maybe he was actually relieving the tension. She squashed that thought before it could fully form as she remembered something he'd said. Their marks hurt when they were touched by someone other than their mate, so if he was with someone else her mark would hurt right? Almost as if her mark had been waiting for her to have that thought; a pain sliced across her shoulders so powerful that she dropped her knife. Tears welled in her eyes from both the physical and emotional pain that wracked her body. How could he? How dare he? A sound of anger, half between a sob and a chest deep growl, echoed from her body and into the empty room as she spun on her heel and left her half completed potion behind. Fuck him and his detention to hell.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Severus clenched his teeth against the pain shooting up his leg as he limped through the forest. A hiss of pain escaped him when his mark burned suddenly and painfully but it made him quicken his pace. He could feel blood dripping down his leg drying and sticking to his leg hair. He entered the castle immediately heading towards his quarters. Something collided with him causing him to grunt and stumble back making his leg protest at the sudden movement.

"Watch where you're—" Snarled a familiar voice making him raise an eyebrow.

"Where were you going in such a hurry Miss Granger," he inquired holding his hand out to help her up. She ignored his hand with a growl and stood to her feet jerkily.

"Did you enjoy yourself professor?" The bitterness and hatred lining her voice made his eyebrows raise again.

"Not particularly."

"Well maybe you should find a different girl next time," she retorted hotly.

"A different—What exactly did you believe I was doing Miss Granger?" He hissed, feeling his own anger raise.

"My mark burned, it only burns when you're touching someone else, so what do you think I think you were doing?"

Severus grabbed her arm and dragged her back towards his quarters ignoring her squawk of displeasure and struggles. Once they were inside and he'd shut the door, he began to undo his pants, again choosing not to listen to her, "What the hell are you doing?"

"This is what you felt you foolish girl, I was injured. You're as thick as a first year," He barked at her as he gestured to his bleeding leg and felt no small triumph in her gasp of concern.

"What happened? What did you do?" She questioned as she bustled about looking for supplies to tend to his wound. "Why would I feel you get injured? It's never happened before. Do you feel it when I'm injured?"

Severus let himself be manhandled into an armchair feeling faintly entertained as his mate's shift from furious woman to mother-hen in a matter of seconds. He hissed as Hermione prodded the wound more roughly than he thought was needed, and her slight smirk confirmed it.

"Are you going to answer my questions?" She asked after a few minutes silence.

"They were fired at me so rapidly I didn't catch them," He replied sardonically causing her to poke his leg. "If you don't stop that I'm going to take points for Professor abuse."

Hermione snorted at his empty threat, "I'd love to see you explain that to Professor McGonagall. My first question was why haven't I felt it before?"

"I do not find myself in many situations where I am injured."

"Have you felt it?"

"You are quite klutzy," At her scowl he added, "Yes I have felt it on occasion."

"What did you do to injure yourself?" Silence met this question; it went on for so long that she was worried he'd fallen asleep. A glance up at him told her that he was scowling and there was a distinctly pink hue to his cheeks. "Are you—Are you blushing?"

"Most certainly not. I may have—overestimated my ability to walk in the dark."

Hermione blinked a few times as that sunk in, and then she started laughing. "You mean—you mean you tripped in the dark—and what? Fell on a stick?" His scowl increased ever so slightly making her laugh all the harder. "Oh my god, you fell on a stick?"

"Indeed."

"Now who's the klutz hmm?" Hermione joked causing him to roll his eyes. "When else does the mark burn for you?"

"If you experience particularly strong emotions, such as anger or fear, I feel it."

"Why doesn't mine burn very often?" Hermione asked slightly put out.

"I am very rarely injured, and even more rarely do I experience strong enough emotions for you to feel it. You are young, your emotions and experiences are fresh and sharp compared to mine. I've had time to temper my emotions and not let them run me."

She tried to feel affronted at that but found that it was difficult to; his words were true after all. The last of the wound was healed in silence and the supplies vanished. She looked up at him to see that he had laid his head back and closed his eyes. They shot open however as she settled herself into his lap straddling his legs.

"What are you doing?" Severus hissed in a low voice. Her hands slid around his neck and played with the hair at his nape that made him relax even more.

"Sitting," she said but he was unable to answer as her lips met his. Hermione felt like she'd grabbed a livewire and held on as it sparked and sizzled. She felt his hands come up to her hips, but they didn't push or pull as she expected. His thumbs slipped under her shirt to caress the skin beneath and he opened his mouth to her questing tongue. Their tongues started dancing with each other, the only sounds in the room was their mutual breathing. Severus' hold went from passive to pressing her closer to him and Hermione moaned softly as her core rubbed against the bulge already present in his trousers. She grounded against him instinctively making both of their breathing hitch and his fingers dug into her hips.

"This is unwise," Severus said as he broke the kiss, his breathing irregular. His body was thrumming with the hormones his mate was unknowingly putting out making him achingly aware of how long it had been since he'd been buried deep inside her. The need to claim her, to remind her just who she belonged to was suffocating in its intensity.

"Please, I just—" He felt and heard her say against his neck where she'd buried her face. The tiny kisses and nibbles she was trailing down the column of his throat. The last of his reserve broke away with a growl and he sealed his lips over hers with renewed passion. Their shirts and outer clothes were quickly lost under impatient hands. He felt her shaking hands move to unclasp his pants and free his weeping erection, he shifted to give her more room but a sudden alarm shrieked through the air causing Hermione to jump of his lap.

If he was a man less in control of himself he would have growled in frustration as he waved his hand simultaneously turning off the alarm and unlocking his quarters. "Enter." He had never been so unhappy to see Nott in his entire life, but the stricken look on his face kept him from snapping at his long-time friend.

"There was an attack on the pack, two are dead, several are injured," Nott said without preamble.

"Who—?"

"Leighanna has turned sides; she showed them where headquarters was."

Severus was pulling on his shirt and coat before Nott had finished speaking. He nodded to Nott who shifted into his bat form and took off. He turned to Hermione and leaned forward to give her a quick kiss, "I'm sorry. Let Luna know, I'll be back soon, with Nott." Hermione could only nod before he too shifted and was gone.

Hermione was so distracted as she walked from Severus' quarters to Gryffindor tower that she walked smack into someone.

"Hermione—You okay?" Harry's voice asked her shaking her from her thoughts.

"What? Oh, Harry, yes I'm fine." She replied with a small smile that quickly slid from her face. "Just tired, that's all." They walked beside each other towards Gryffindor tower, and if Hermione had been more aware, she would have noticed the stiffness in the silence between herself and her friend. As it was, she stayed quiet until they reached the common room, and continued to bed with a soft "night Harry".

What were Nott and Severus going to do? Were they going to launch a full scale attack again a woman? Who had died? How many were injured? Were Nott and Severus in danger going back there? Her mind ran in impossible circles trying to answer questions that seemed impossible to answer until her mate returned. A scowl appeared on her face, why had she been left behind? Surely she could have been some help. Instead she was to wait here, like a child waiting for its parent to return. A frustrated huff made itself past her lips and she flopped back on her bed. What a frustrating situation.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Severus and Nott stood at the mouth of the cave feeling exhausted and worn out. They'd flown to the cave to see wreckage and damage to almost the entire mountainside. A new location would have to be found, soon. The other bats had apparently attacked with furious strength and then left as quickly as they'd appeared leaving carnage and wounded behind. Severus had been able to take care of those who were injured and in need of healing potions, thankful once again that he'd thought to grab the necessary potions. It wasn't as though this was entirely unexpected, he had been aware that an attack like this would be attempted as soon as he had taken up the alpha position. You don't simply take charge of a rogue bat pack and expect life to continue on like normal. The fact that Leighanna was the leader of the attack made Severus' blood boil.

"When should we begin to look for a new location?" A semi-familiar voice said from behind them causing them to turn to face Toby. Unlike most of the other bats, he met Severus' eyes head on, making the other man tense and growl before he could stop himself.

"Immediately," Severus replied before turning back to face the countryside that lay below them.

"Do you have any ideas as to where it should be?" Toby asked as he walked to stand next to Severus. To say that having an alter-him around was strange was a vast understatement. Indeed Nott had to admit that having two of them around was odd as well, but there were such clear differences between them that it was like being around two different people who shared looks.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stem some of the headache he could feel beginning to pound behind his eyes. "It will have to be somewhere like this, away from civilization but close enough that we can gather supplies. The mount will need to be structured like this so it will not do any damage to magic it and alter the structure."

"Why not settle in a village?" Toby questioned making Severus roll his eyes and round on him.

"We can't just settle into a village because many of these people stay in their bat form nearly all day, only switching at night. Those that go out during the day to work at the Ministry, have to be careful to do it so that they don't expose or compromise the rest of the pack. Most of them are so wary of people that they haven't been around them in decades. Not only that, but settling into a public area around other humans will allow the elite bats to do more damage. We must stay hidden."

"Why don't you just attack first?"

This time both Nott and Severus turned to stare at him with similar, 'are you retarded?' looks. "We can't just 'attack first' as you so indelicately said because they outnumber us by thirty to one. Some of them were either supporters of Voldemort, or were family of those who were. They aren't school children forming a study club. They are ruthless, well trained, and have honed their skills in order to inflict the absolute most damage." Nott answered this time, his voice and face so hard that the other man took an involuntary step back. Nott forced himself to take a deep breath and relax slightly. "This situation is something that we've only just stepped into, you even more so, it takes time to learn and assess how to handle certain situations."

"Understood. Would you like me to go scout now?" Toby asked with a slightly more subdued continence. His eyes averted in an obvious sign of submission before his leaders.

"Take someone with you, do not land, do not transform, do nothing but scout." Severus ordered waiting until Toby nodded to walk past him back into the cave Nott right behind him.

"Are you still concerned about what we spoke about?" Nott queried, his voice pitched low so that it would not travel beyond the two of them.

"He seems to be loyal, if not a little more challenging than the other males, but he is unbonded and not use to operating in a pack setting. He must adapt. I do not believe he will challenge me for the leader position." Severus responded softly, his own voice low. The pair entered into the antechamber in the cave where the room was bustling with people cleaning both room and others.

"John," Severus called across the room causing everyone to stop and turn to him, the man called walked forward and stood with his head bowed. "Go with Toby to scout, do not transform or land. I want you back in exactly one hour. If you're not back, do not come back." The man nodded and moved to leave but Severus stopped him as John passed him. "Keep an eye on Toby."

"He is untrustworthy?" John questioned, meeting Severus' eyes and holding the gaze.

"Better to be safe than sorry, we've lost enough people for today." Severus replied solemnly. His words were met with a short nod as the other man left.

"Do you think that is wise?" Nott asked lowering his gaze when Severus turned back to him, letting the other man know subconsciously that he wasn't challenging the decision. Nott looked back up when Severus said, "I'm unsure what is wise at the moment."

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Hermione entered the Great Hall the next day feeling like she'd run a marathon and then swam across the Great Lake, then didn't sleep. The mirror had showed deep purple bruises under her eyes and a slight puffing quality to her face that she couldn't charm off no matter how hard she tried. Her cramping had started up again as she just managed to fall asleep meaning that sleep was sparse. A quick glance at the head table showed both Nott and Severus in their respective chairs looking tired but unharmed; their heads were bent close together in deep conversation.

Hermione had just started unenthusiastically nibbling on her toast when Harry sat in front of her. He stared at her until she looked up with a sigh. "Well, what is it?"

"I've come to—to tell you that—that—I," Harry stuttered so painfully that Hermione took pity on him.

"That you were an enormous dunderhead and are incredibly thick-headed for causing this to disrupt 7 years of friendship over a petty little dislike that is completely unfounded and not to mention—"

"Hermione, breathe," Harry said with a small laugh. "But yes, to all of that. I'm sorry. Snape isn't a bad guy, and I'll probably never like him but—I miss you being around."

"What assignments exactly are you and Ron behind on?" Hermione questioned good naturedly.

"It's insulting that you would think that I only apologized because—"

"How many Harry?"

Her questioned caused him to slump on the bench with a dejected sigh, "Potions, defense, and Herbology."

Hermione rolled her eyes but shook her head, "I'll help you tonight after classes, but Ron has yet to apologize, he's on his own." Harry beamed at her as he stood from the table and walked to where Ron was sitting. A glare was sent her way as Harry gave Ron her conditions but she pointedly turned back to her plate realizing that she was suddenly more hungry. She grabbed several slices of bacon and ate them in quick succession, before reaching for more.

"I get like that too," A dreamy voice said from next to her. She looked at Luna and smiled gently through her full mouth.

"Good morning Luna," She said once she'd swallowed her mouthful. "How are you?"

"Tired, but I suspect the Nargles are responsible," Luna replied as she placed various food on her plate. Hermione noticed she avoided any meats, choosing instead more vegetarian selections. Luna must have noticed her staring because she leaned closer and whispered, "I'm not much of a fan of meat since—"

Hermione nodded in understanding, turning back to her own plate when a sudden thought struck her. She turned back to her friends and whispered, "Do you get—crazy periods too?"

Luna nodded serenely as she licked a bit of marmalade off her finger. "Oh yes, mine was last week."

Hermione was silent for a minute and then, "But that means that you and Nott—" Her sentence was cut off by Luna's hand over her mouth. Hermione nodded and said, "Sorry. Weird to think about," once the hand was removed. Luna tipped her head in acknowledgement as she continued to munch on her fruit and the two finished their breakfasts in silence.

XxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

The day passed too slowly for Hermione's tastes, though her exhaustion could be blamed partially for that. The muggle phrase, "Time goes slowly when you're waiting for something" rang true to her as the minutes felt like hours. Finally the bell rang for the last class and she hurried towards the dungeons hoping to catch Severus before dinner. She rounded a corner and slammed into someone, dropping onto her butt with an undignified "oomf".

"As graceful as ever Miss Granger," Severus' voice said from above her causing her to throw a dirty look at him as she stood.

"Don't you pay attention as you walk around or does being a bat compromise your vision?" Hermione snapped back as she rubbed her slightly throbbing backside. She looked up in time to see Severus' lip twitch meaning he was secretly howling with laughter on the inside. "I dislike you immensely some days."

Severus responded by looking around them and grabbing her wrist before dragging her into an alcove a little ways up the corridor. Once they were hidden in the shadows their mouths met in a furious kiss that was equal parts passion and assuring the other that all was well. Hermione felt his hands come up to bury in her hair as he gentled the kiss and pulled away, placing a chaste kiss on her lips before pulling away completely.

"What happened last night?" Hermione whispered to him. "How many were hurt?"

"Too many, we have to find a place to relocate," Severus responded to her as he stepped away allowing her to straighten herself. They turned together to walk towards the great hall standing far enough apart to appear to be simply student and teacher.

"Where will that be?"

"Unsure yet, it depends on the locations we come up with."

"What are you going to do until a new place is picked?" Hermione questioned as they descended the staircase into the Entrance Hall.

"Have scouts and tighten security, I will be going back with Nott tonight so don't try to come to my quarters," He said in parting as he walked away from her to enter the hall by the Head Table. Hermione scowled slightly as his back but turned to enter the hall to eat dinner with her mind dancing in circles around the new information.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Hermione and Harry sat by a window in the common room that night, partly so she could keep an eye out on the skies, and partly so she didn't have to see Ron and Lavender sucking face on the sofa. Harry's Herbology essay was so riddled with mistakes and errors that she felt herself go cross eyed.

"How is it, after 6 years of schooling and one year on the run, you are still rubbish at this?" Hermione asked him.

"I wasn't paying attention to herbology while we were on the run," Harry said roughly, his tone becoming hard and tense the way it always did when they discussed the War and the time before it. Hermione studied him over his parchment as he scratched out some sentences he was writing. "I'm fine Hermione; you don't need to stare at me."

"Have the nightmares stopped yet?"

Harry sighed as he put his parchment down and met her eyes. "Some nights, I dream that we're back at the Burrow before everything went to hell, it's nice, peaceful. Other nights I dream that everyone who survived the War, really died, those are the nights I get little to no sleep. I find myself still expecting to get flashes of pain and Voldemort's thoughts."

"That's normal though, 17 years of living with something only to have it disappear would be hard on anyone, and I don't think there's a single survivor who doesn't have those nightmares. You're just as sane as I am," Hermione said gently, echoing the words Luna Lovegood had said in 5th year. She was rewarded with a smile from Harry before he resumed his work on his essay.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Hermione jerked upright as the sound of tapping reached her sleep induced head. She squinted around the room in an attempt to locate the noise but it was too dark to see. A series of taps sounded and she got out of bed to investigate. A quick spell made her wand tip flare with light and she cast it around her room before coming to rest on the window where a bat was clacking its claws against the glass. She hurried over to the window and let the bat in, sighing in relief as she recognized Nott's form.

"Thanks God you're alright, where's Severus?" Hermione asked as she turned to find her bathrobe. It wouldn't do to talk to her mate's best friend in boy shorts and an old Quidditch Jersey.

"Stupefy!"

Hermione squeaked as the unexpected spell hit her and she fell back. The last thing her heard before darkness took her was a female saying "stupid bitch".

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Severus walked into his quarters, slightly surprised and annoyed to see Hermione sitting there. "I said not to come tonight, I meant all night Hermione." He said tiredly.

"I—I wanted to see you," His mate replied blushing slightly under his disapproving gaze. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist pressing her cheek against his chest. "I was worried, and I wanted to make sure you were alright."

Severus buried his face in his mate's hair and breathed in her reassuring scent before pulling back to press a kiss to her forehead. "I'm uninjured and safe. Were you seen on your way down here?" He felt her shake her head against his lips until she tipped her head back to look him in the eye. He leaned forward as seized her mouth in a kiss, slipping his tongue inside when her mouth opened. Her moan of pleasure into his mouth made his blood rush to his groin with dizzying speed. He slid his hands down her waist to cup her thighs and lifted her. A few steps later he was lowering onto his bed and pressing his body up against hers in a familiar age-old stance. He trailed kisses down her neck, moving his hands to pull her shirt over her head in a quick movement. A short flick of his fingers behind her back and her breasts spilled out for his perusal. The buds of her nipples tightened in the cool air and he immediately applied his mouth to each swell swathing first one with attention before moving to the other one. Her fingers at his throat caused him to pull back so she could undo the buttons but the shaking in her hands caused him to brush them aside to do it himself. He quickly divested himself of the rest of his clothing and watched her hungrily as she stood to do the same thing. The muscles in her back shifted as she teasingly looked over her shoulder at him when she unzipped her skirt. Her pert butt was place in the air enticingly when she bent over to pull her shoes and socks off making his erection throb painfully.

Minutes later they were back on the bed wrapped together as Severus slipped his fingers down to play with her slick entrance, the throaty moan he received made him smirk against her throat where she was kissing and nibbling on the skin. In one swift movement he grabbed his wand from his bedside table and shoved it against her throat, making her hiss in pain.

"Where is my mate," Severus growled out with all of the anger and protectiveness his bat nature had been supplying him since he hugged her. He pulled his head back and watched the familiar beloved brown eyes of his mate shift back to equally familiar blue eyes.


	17. Caught

The familiar blue eyes of Leighanna stared up at him, her face blank for a split second before it broke into a sultry look Severus was very familiar with. She reminded him of their state of undress by running her nails down his sides leading to grip his completely flagged erection.

"How'd you know it wasn't her? How'd you know it wasn't your little bitc—" Her taunting sentence was cut off as he dug the tip of his wand deeper into her throat.

"You don't smell like her, you don't have my mark, you will never be her," he snarled out hatefully emphasizing his words with sharps presses against her throat.

"Come on Severus, I can make you feel good," She whispered, her tongue peeking out and tasting his wrist.

Severus let out of furious hiss and shot away from her, he grabbed his pants and shoved himself into them ignoring the hungry look he received. "Clearly you're no longer able to make me feel good. Now, where is my mate?"

Leighanna flounced of the bed her long hair swaying nicely down her back. "Your mate? Your mate who fell for my ploy? Your mate who is such a stupid child that she let me into her room where I was able to incapacitate her? Your mate is pathetic; you deserve someone strong, someone able to fight with and for you, not some slut of a girl hoping to better herself."

Severus opened his mouth to retort but blinding pain shot across his shoulder making him clench his teeth. The pain was more intense than anything he'd ever felt from Voldemort, it felt like his very heart was being ripped from his chest in a mix of heartbreak, pain, fear, and a million other emotions he couldn't sort through. His last thread of patience and control snapped, in an instant he had Leighanna pressed against the wall with a hand around her throat. " . ?" He growled so dangerously that some of the color faded from the woman's face.

"She's perfectly safe—"

Severus tightened his hold to cut off her sentence as well as her breath. "Where?" The pain in his shoulder intensified until he was forced to release Leighanna. A shudder ran through him as the wards of his quarters were breached and forceful magic hit him so strongly that he tensed. The door to his room burst open to reveal his bruised and slightly bloodied mate but she didn't spare him so much as a glance as she stalked towards Leighanna.

"How did you—?" Leighanna began but Hermione waved a hand in the air that silenced her.

"You stupid wretched whore – I escaped from Voldemort's most faithful followers. People more powerful than you, you think that your disgusting ropes would hold me?" Hermione snarled so savagely that Severus felt the hair on his neck raise. She raised her hand and backhanded Leighanna with such force that the other woman fell back into the wall. Severus thought that she was done but instead Hermione stooped to grab the fallen woman by the hair forcing her head back until Leighanna was forced to meet Hermione's eyes. "If you ever come near me or my mate again, I will kill you, do you understand?"

Leighanna's eyes flashed in defiance; when she remained silent Hermione pressed the tip of her wand into the captured woman's throat pressing hard enough that Leighanna recoiled. "I said, do you understand?"

"Yes," Leighanna hissed out, her voice rough from Hermione's wand against her esophagus as well as the awkward angle her head had been involuntary bent into. A gasp echoed around the room when Hermione slipped her wand up and sliced Leighanna's cheek.

"Get out." Hermione stepped away from the other female, who transformed instantly and was gone before something else could happen. Severus stared at the hard tense line of Hermione back and his bat hearing caught the sound of her ragged breathing.

"Hermione—"

"I felt it." Her sharp words were thrown back at him.

"I didn't know—"

"That is such shit and you know it. A person can imitate someone, but a bat's mate will know the difference. You would know the difference," Hermione snarled angrily finally turning to face him with anger etched in every line of her face. The normally calm and beloved brown eyes so full of happiness, were hard edged with hate and fury.

"I couldn't let her know until I could—"

"So you decided to what? Almost fuck her?" Her words were hurled at him with such accuracy that he felt the urge to flinch.

"I will not stand her and listen to your accusations. I did what I had to do." Severus said in a booming voice, his own anger beginning to rise.

"You did what you had to do?" Hermione echoed hollowly. "Was it easy for you? To just fall back into bed with someone willing, while you refuse your own mate."

"You know the reason—"

"I know nothing—I looked it up, dear, I am only extremely fertile in the first 3 days of my cycle and after that a regular potion will work. Were you simply looking for someone to amuse yourself with or did you decide that two witches are better than one? Was I just some distraction to you?"

Severus strode forward and grabbed her arms, roughly forcing her against the wall behind her with a growl echoing from his throat in warning. The man and bat were warring with themselves, the bat half told him to tread carefully, this was his mate, his one chosen partner. The man part was furious for her accusations, old seated words hurled at him transporting him back 15 years in time. His thoughts were abruptly broken at the answering growl that met his. He was shoved backwards with more force than he would have thoughts possible from his mate and her words froze him in his place.

"I am not your mate any longer. I stopped being your mate when you allowed another into your bed. I challenge your claim," She roared out, saying the ancient words that made Severus' heart stop in his chest. Everything in his body was fighting, screaming at him to make things better, to not say the answering words required of him. This was unheard of; this was exactly what generation after generation of bats feared more than anything. His entire existence was breaking apart under the weight of her words even as he opened his mouth to rasp out.

"I acknowledge your challenge, and so withdraw." Pain bloomed through once more through him from his shoulder as his mark burned hot. His eyes stayed on her as she faced him, the pain in her eyes mirrored on her face, telling him that the agony was shared. He hung his head to grit his teeth against the torture when it stopped as quickly as it began.

Hermione fled from his rooms, tears welling in her eyes to make her vision blurry. She stumbled around the corner and into a solid body. Blue eyes met hers much as they had so long ago on the battlefield, catching her just as they did now. Only this time there was a sharp gasp of breath, and she quickly found herself shoved from the hard reassuring body.

"What did you do?" Nott whispered.

"Nott, what-?

"What did you do? Why is your scent different? What did you do?" Nott's words were hissed out in such urgency that she immediately answered.

"He almost slept with Leighanna."

"Wh—why? What? No. How?"

"I—She came to my room disguised as you—" She snapped her mouth shut and raised her wand till it was eye level with Nott. "What did you say to me the first time we met?"

"Hermione—what?"

"What did you say?" Hermione repeated, red sparks flying from her wand.

"Run." His words made her throw herself into her arms and sob.

"She was there, dressed in some school uniform, and he was there in just his pants—they weren't even zipped up."

"Hermione, you—what did you do?" Nott whispered into her hair. "What did you do?"

"I challenged his claim to me, he doesn't want me—"

"What did he say? What happened? Hermione, you must tell me!"

"I told him I challenged his claim to me, that I wasn't his mate when he let that—that whore into his bed. He said—Merlin, he just said that he acknowledged it and withdrew from the challenge."

"He withdrew! Hermione, he withdrew?"

"Ye—yes. Why? Nott what's wrong? What?" Hermione asked, a cold heat suffusing her body as a fear gripped her.

"Did you respond to his withdraw? Did you say anything?"

"No. Was I supposed to? The book—"

"You did this based on a book? Hermione, if you don't respond to his withdraw, if you don't tell him it's acknowledged or ignored. He will die. Bats cannot be without their mates once chosen. Bats mate for life, once they mate, to be unmated is fatal."

"I can't be with a cheater, I don't deserve it!" Hermione argued, furious that she was just meant to forgive him.

"Hermione use your brain. Severus loves you. He loves you Hermione. Do you honestly and truly think so little of his love that you think he'd cheat? Especially with her? She's been after him since school Hermione; she's wanted to ensnare him, so share his power that comes with being born an alpha male."

"She came to my room disguised as you." Hermione said blankly. Her thoughts pinning wildly until they all halted in memory of the shirt the bitch had been wearing. "She was wearing my clothes!" Hermione shrieked out, her mind racing once more. "She planned this. She planned the attack on the cave to draw Severus there, to keep him away from Hogwarts; she planned that as the distraction she needed to get inside the situation." Her body was literally throbbing with the realizations that hit her with the force of a train.

"So glad your brain has started functioning again," Nott said drily, sarcasm and exasperation coloring his tone.

"Oh God—what have I done? Nott, what do I do? I'm such an idiot."

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Severus watched her run from the room, his withdraw unanswered and felt his gut clench. Generations of biology forcing his body into shutting down, an unanswered withdraws after a challenge was worse than fighting for the claim. She didn't accept his withdraw. She didn't accept. She meant him to suffer. Of course she meant him to suffer. Everyone wanted him to suffer.

He clutched blindly at the bedpost next to him bile rising in his throat, his heart, beats already numbered, hammered running down the last of its movement quickly. How did he get in this position? He swore never to take a mate because of this reason. He swore never to love, never to trust another, because this was the consequence. First his belief that Lily would be his mate, only to have that ripped away by Potter, now this.

A slamming door broke his thoughts and he turned his focus towards the newcomer that dared disrupt his peace, forcing themselves into the last moments of peace. His eyes drank in the sight of his mate standing before him, practically shaking, like a dying man. Had her hair always been that curly? Her eyes always that brown?

"Your withdraw is acknowledged and so—" Her words paused for a moment as tears welled in her eyes, but a glint of determination formed there too. "Ignored." The words sent a wash of cool relief over him before her words caught his mind in their hold.

Fury was back, anger and the fierce protectiveness born from pain, betrayal, and history, "Who is it? Who will fight my claim to you? Who dares mark what is already owned? I will kill them. I will hunt them to the edge of the earth and fight for my claim to you. You are my mate. Mine! You bear my mark, and mine alone. Who dares?" He barked out at her.

"That's right, I am marked," Hermione yelled back as she pushed him for the second time. "I wear your mark." She walked forward and slapped her hand onto the mark he still wore on his chest over his heart, a perfect print of her teeth announcing him as mated to those who knew to look.

"But you wear mine as well Severus Snape, or have you forgotten? .mine." She ground out, her lips pulled back over the elongated teeth that had grown when she issued her challenge. Before he could stop her or she could back out she thrust her teeth into the same mark piercing his flesh. The first taste of blood against her tongue caused her head to throb so painfully it felt like it would crack. His wordless yell reached her ears as though hearing it from under water. Hands grabbed her arms and forced her mouth from him, but her protest died on her lips when he pressed his own mouth to her shoulder.

Severus felt her head fall against his shoulder but was too lost in the wonderfully painful throb in his head and shoulder to care. He needed this. They needed this. It was like a reaffirmation of life, the way her scent and essence flowed across his senses like water. It was like a dying oasis getting rain after a drought. Her presences soothed the cracks, the pain, and life-altering damage done by her challenge. He tore his mouth from her shoulder and pulled her around into his embrace. Their mouths met, their blood mixing in their mouths adding an edge to an already steamy kiss. The pain of their rejoining made them both groan but their mouths stayed locked together. Severus picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, in an almost perfect mimic of what he had done to Leighanna, but this was his mate. This complex, infuriating, whelp of a chit that pressed all his buttons in the most annoyingly endearing way. He heard her grunt as her back met the wall but he paid the noise no heed as he ripped the clothing that kept her body from him.

"Are you—" He asked, the vague memory of her cycle making his pause

"No, stopped at lunch," She answered back, the words barely out of her mouth when he crushed his mouth over hers. He placed her back on her feet only long enough to rip the pajama bottoms from her body, barely registering that she wore no undergarments. She was back against the wall seconds later, being held in place by his hands. A pause was all that kept him from his destination, but he thrust into her waiting heat before the permission or denial could be given.

Hermione gasped as he thrust home without any preamble, she was wet enough to slick the way, had been since she'd bit him, but the sudden fullness made the noise escape her without thought. He lifted his head up and their gazes locked in a stare that made the air almost seem to sizzle with intensity. His thrusts punched the air from her lungs on each upward lunge but it just made her head spin with arousal so thick she could taste it. The angle was good, so good; the course hairs of his stomach provided enough tickling sensation to her clit to be maddening. The tip of his penis caressed her cervix making her stomach twist and chase desire up and down her spine. His fingertips were digging crescents into her buttocks, the pain-pleasure adding to the experience. She was close, her body tensing in preparation for her release when he was suddenly gone. A whimper of protest was out of her mouth before she could stop it only to be silenced when he manhandled her over the lone armchair that sat in his room. She was compelled around and face first over the arm, complaint dying as he pressed into her swiftly. The new angle freed his hands which he quickly put to use by gripping her hips for leverage as he pounded into her with new ferocity. His fingers reached down to dance across the slickness that covered her lips and clit, the roughness of the pads making her moan. Her hands came up to brace herself against the other arm to press back to meet his thrusts.

Severus wrapped a hand loosely in her hair, giving it a sharp tug to bring her head back as he leaned forward. He was forced to slow his hips to shallow little thrusts, but Hermione whimpered as each one landed a shot right to her core.

"Say it."

"Sev—Severus, please," she pleaded.

"Say it, say it now." He hissed in her ear before he applied his mouth to her shoulder, nibbling so close to her mark that she arched in encouragement. "Say it," He repeated with a little tug on her hair, never lifting his mouth from his nibbles.

"Yours." He growled in satisfaction and released her hair, he nipped her mark sharply as his hips picked back up their pace. Her body once against stiffening as his fingers fluttered over her clit in the most delicious way. "Severus—Please—God—yes, yes," she babbled the whined high in her throat as her climax hit her making her walls clench around Severus' throbbing length so hard that white flashed behind his eyes. One, two, three thrusts later and he buried himself to the hilt in her welcoming body to empty himself into her with a groan. His orgasm felt like it lasted forever, the twitching of her walls sending renewed wave after wave of sensation through his dick up his body blanking his brain out.

Hermione held herself up on shaky leg as he withdrew, only to stumble when he fell into the armchair. His chest was heaving as she watched a trickle of sweat make its way down the side of his face; her observation of the droplet was interrupted when he suddenly turned his head to meet her eyes. She licked her lips to wet them as her eyes flicked down to his own parted lips. His hand came up to cup her face with such gentleness that had tears spilling down her cheeks. She let herself be led to sit on his lap, vaguely realizing that he still wore his pants. His mouth caught the tears that ran down her face unchecked with a tenderness that made her heart clench.

"I love you, Merlin, I'm sorry. I was so stupid. I love you, I love you, I'm sorry," She babbled until his mouth cut off her words. He broke the kiss after only a few moments, but laid his forehead against hers.

"I love you. I love you my Hermione, my mate. No one else. You're my future." Hermione let out a wet laugh and hugged Severus tightly to her.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

"You appear to be upset."

"There are intricacies of being a bat that are sometimes a hindrance, a pain, and often life threatening if misinterpreted." Luna wound her arms around her mate and rested her head against his shoulder blade, she let him talk, there was tenseness to his body that was not there on normal occasions. "Promise me; promise me that you will verify something before you challenge me."

At this Nott turned around to look into the beautiful face of his mate, his heart-holder, searching her eyes for any sign that she wouldn't do it. Her head was tipped delicately to the side, her eyes trailing over his face with such strength that it felt like an actual caress. She tilted her head up, presently her lips at such an angle that he felt almost compelled by magic to press his own against them. The taste of her made his head spin wonderfully, his heart filling with a warmth that he'd long since given up hope for. She was like the sun, powerful in its beauty, but giving life to him that he desperately needed sometimes. His hands cradled her head, her hair spilling through his fingers like liquid, the lavender scent that seemed to come from her very blood was a balm to the tempest that had been raging inside him since he'd run into Hermione.

Luna pulled back gently, and rested her forehead against Nott's lips when he pressed a kiss there. She wrapped her arms around his waist and allowed herself to be enveloped in his familiar scent. He had yet to give her a reason to not trust him, to doubt him even a little; there seemed no reason to start now. The sounds of the night echoed around them, each lost in their other thoughts and yet still inexplicably linked to each other. It was a communication that surpassed words, communication that stemmed from the silence of two people who knew when to ask questions, demand answers, and when to be a rock in the storms of life.

"I promise."

A sigh of relief was her only response.

Hermione lifted her head from Severus' chest where she'd spent the last quarter hour listening to his heart, to the reaffirmation that he lived. Lazy fingers combed through her hair, followed by the tingle of magic every time said fingers would find a tangle. She was loath to disrupt the calm silence the pair had settled into but her mind was thriving with questions.

"Ask your questions before you shake us off the bed," She heard from her pillow, the deep baritone voice was thick with humor as well as deep satiation.

"How did you-? "

"You've positively vibrated when you have questions since you were eleven and wanted to answer my questions in class," Hermione lifted her head to glare at Severus but it held no real heat. She ignored the urge to stick her tongue out at him and instead bite his side causing him to squirm.

"Very well. Why didn't I read anything about the claim mates have in the books I found in the library?" Tensions racketed through her mate's body at her words starting with his face, his eyes narrowed and his lips thinned, until his whole body was as tense as stone. He brushed her off, and stood from the bed, walking away from her ignoring his own nakedness. Hermione opened her mouth to apologize but shut it against when he approached a bookshelf, pulled a book off, and then returned to his previous position.

"This book was passed down through my family every time a new bat was borne; it has all the information on bats, written by bats, rather than the books written by those who only studied them." He explained as he handed her the book, she took it gently and received a raised eyebrow when she didn't start to read it immediately.

"What time is it?" She questioned as she moved into a more comfortable position.

"After midnight," Severus answered her. His voice was slightly muffled causing her to look up only to find his face hidden from her behind his own book.

She settled in and starting reading, giggling slightly when the image of how they must look flew into her head. Two naked people, cuddled in bed, reading their respective books. If you had told her a year ago that this would be where she was today, well, she'd probably suggest a trip to Saint Mungo's. Relaxation began to loosen her body as her mind calmed from the mixture of a warm body, steady breathing, and the comforting scent that seemed to cling to Severus no matter what he did. Her eyelids began to droop and her blinks became longer until her eyes closed and the book in her hand fell onto Severus' stomach.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Severus winced when his book hit his stomach, and he peered down at where Hermione's read was resting. Her eyes were closed and twitching slightly, signifying that she was dreaming. He picked up the book and placed it, along with his own, on the bedside table then turned his attention back to the witch. Her delicate features were relaxed and softened in sleep, making her seem even younger than her 19 years. Looking this close he could tell where her freckles littered her nose and cheeks, they weren't as noticeable as they had been during the summer months but she hardly spent much time in the sun now. Her wild mane of hair, which had calmed some but not much, was spread across him, the sheets, and her shoulders. The chestnut curls had a pleasing look of blondes, browns, and reds that spoke of both time in the sun and good genes. He carefully smoothed her hair away from her shoulder to reveal the mark he had placed her many months ago. His fingers traced it gently, stilling completely when the sleeping witch stirred. She shifted so the she was laying more on her stomach and less on him; she pressed her face against his side by where his heart lay as though she couldn't bear to be separated from him for even a second.

The throb from his bladder told him that a trip to the bathroom was dire, so he extracted himself as carefully as he could from the sleeping figure beside him, snorting in amusement when some of her hair stuck to his chest hair. She was still fast asleep when he walked back towards the bed, though she had moved to take up most of the space in the double bed. A few nudges and disgruntled snuffles were all it took to retake his place in his bed, and he'd just gotten comfortable when he found the sleeping witch next to him again. She threw her arm over his stomach and pressed her forehead back into his side. Severus allowed a soft smile to part his lips before he closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Hermione surfaced from sleep to an empty bed and the blankets kicked to the end of the bed. Her sensitive hearing picked up the sound of running water and a sly smile broke out on her face as she slipped from Severus' bed. The door to the bathroom noiselessly opened and she walked to the shower, pausing slightly before shrugging and climbing in. Severus' back was to her but his shoulders remained relaxed. Soap ran from his hair down his spine to disappear in between his butt cheeks. She admired the view, the play of muscles that shifted and moved under his skin, the stark contrast of his black mark against his pale complexion. She reached her hand out and grabbed the soap from the cubby, causing Severus to tense slightly before relaxing again. He turned to face her, his face curiously blank and his eyes once against unreadable. His lack of expression and his countenance said that he was nervous, anxious about their situation, despite having been naked around each other many time before. Her eyes caught and held his as she rubbed the soap between her hands lathering them up before she ran them over his skin. Breath was sucked in when her nails grazed his nipples, causing the buds to tighten and stick out from the black hair that surrounded them. Eyes followed her hands movements as they traced down towards the hardening length that rested between Severus' legs. She ignored it in favor of moving onto his legs, then motioned for him to turn around and started on his back. Severus hummed in his throat when she used her nails to scrubs his back, an action that made his back arch in a move reminiscently alike a cat. Hermione tried to imagine Severus with a cat tail and ears and had to bite her lip to keep her laughter from spilling out.

When her hands moved to his hair, he tipped his head back and made another humming noise. She used her nails to scrub gently at his scalp and marveled at the way the silken strands spread over her fingers like sand. By the time she had completely washed him, his erection was weeping from between his legs and her own center throbbed with desire. The soap was barely rinsed from his body when he pulled her against him and seized her lips in a fierce kiss. She found herself being lifted and pressed against the shower wall with her legs wrapping themselves around his hips. One blind thrust, and then he was sliding into her with a moan that she captured with her mouth. The pace was fast, meant to reach completion quickly rather than the leisurely pace they normally had. Being held up by him and using gravity to assist his thrust meant that he went deeper, his thrusts more shallow rocks that had his stomach rubbing against her clit in a maddening way. Her nails dug into his shoulder blades on their own as her body began to tense, quickly making rushing towards that wonderful crest that would light her body on fire. Kisses and nibbles were applied to her neck and she tipped it back to make it easier, a sharp bite on the sensitive skin under her ear shoved her over the cliff into mind-numbing release. She heard Severus' release distantly over the blood rushing in her ears and the dizzying sensation of her senses returning after her climax. Severus set her gently on her feet and held her elbow as she regained her balance and offered her a rare smile.

"I love you," He said quietly, so softly she almost missed it over the warm water that was quickly raving towards cold.

"I love you too," Hermione replied with a kiss to his lips.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Hermione walked through his quarters and out of his classroom in the clothes she wore yesterday, her mind still humming with the happiness and relaxation that had come from spending the night and lazing around reading his book. She began to braid her hair up as his door shut behind her lost in thought about the upcoming essay due for Herbology when she felt the hairs on her neck raise in awareness. Her heart froze in her throat when her eyes met those of Minerva McGonagall, whose eyes were flicking between Hermione and the closed door behind her.

"Miss Granger, I believe we need to have a conversation," Professor McGonagall said in a cold voice that brooked no argument.

Hermione could only nod and follow the older witch towards the Headmaster study in silence, wondering how she could possibly get herself out of this one and whether she even needed to be worried about that essay anymore.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Severus had just sat down to grade the first years papers when a harried and harassed looking Minerva McGonagall burst into his rooms with a furious expression on her face.

"I have always wondered if anyone taught you to—"

"You and Hermione Granger will cease your current arrangement," Minerva said over him in a sternly loud voice. Severus froze for a moment, before placing his quill back in his ink and staring at her.

"Miss Granger and I's current arrangement? I have no—"

"I caught her exiting your quarters Severus, do not do me the disservice of lying please."

"And what, may I ask, makes you think we have an arrangement of any kind?" Severus questioned, stalling as he gathered his thoughts.

"She told me," Minerva said simply, as though she were commenting on the recent Quidditch match.

"She told you what?" Severus hissed through clenched teeth.

"She said that you two become involved a few months ago after she sought you out and the developing relationship was her doing. I have yet to decide on disciplinary measures at this juncture."

"She did, did she?" Severus snarled, hot anger filling his body with warmth like a firewhiskey shot.

"Yes, stop this or there will be consequences. Severus you should know better, to sleep with a student, honestly." Minerva accused him; she turned on her heel and left before he could think of a proper response. The slam of his door was accompanied with a sharp twist of pain and hurt through his body so thick he stumbled back into his chair. His one anger battled with the equal and just as powerful rage that was echoing through him from his mate. As suddenly as it began it stopped, followed back the swift tingle of his mark that signified that Hermione had transformed. He stood from his chair again and followed the furious witch out of his classroom, quickly making his way through the castle and out onto the grounds. A tiny spec showed his mate to be flying towards that Forbidden Forest as a speed that would seem reckless in any less experienced of a bat. He watched the tiny bat for a few seconds, before sighing and walking behind a statue to transform.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Hermione stormed from the Headmistresses study in such a fit of anger that portrait's on the wall around her rattled in their frames. Fury and indignation swelled off of her in waves so thick that she could taste them, stark anger and hurt against the happiness that had flooded her just an hour ago. The implications that Severus had abused his position as her instructor made her seethe, not at anger for herself, but that McGonagall thought so little of him. She needed something to work off the anger she felt, something to help her get rid of the spiraling helplessness she was incased in. The thought came to her, such an obvious solution, that she contemplated banging her head against the nearest wall. She rushed through the corridors as quickly as she could without running and as soon as she breathed in fresh air of the grounds she was in the air soaring high into the blue sky.

The feeling of flying would never cease to steal her breath; she couldn't believe that she had hated broomsticks so much when flying felt like this. The wind under her wings made her heart sing her head cleared even as the air thinned, she looked down and saw that she was farther away from the ground than she thought. She flew towards the Forbidden Forest urging her body to go faster, and faster till the landscape was flying by her. A trill came from behind her, carried on the air towards her sensitive hearing and she saw her mate join her in her flight. They twisted around each other in the air, seeming to play a game of tag and dancing around each other as they flew. He was beautiful she thought, more beautiful in this form than as a man. The sun glittered off his wings making the white there shine and reflect the sunlight. The single black mark marred his otherwise flawless wing span, but the black feather had dimmed from pitch black to a shady gray. The only sign left of the dangerous life he had lived not too long ago. He called to her again as he switched direction, flying towards a clearing in the trees and slowly descending. She reluctantly followed him with a mournful glance towards the horizon that looked far better than the ground. They transformed and landed on their feet together, though he was far more graceful than her. She just felt lucky that she hadn't crashed into the ground or landed on her backside. He stood there staring at her with an expression on his face that made her want to apologize, even if she wasn't clear on what she should be sorry for.

"Minerva came to see me," He started and glared at her when she opened her mouth. "Told me that she caught you sneaking from my quarters, and instead of thinking of an excuse with that rather large brain of yours YOU TOLD HER THAT WE WERE TOGETHER!" He roared so loudly that several birds and other animals in the forest took flight and got the hell away. Hermione thought that perhaps they had the right idea, get the hell out of doge, fast.

"I didn't think—"

"Obviously. Do you have any idea the consequences of a student/teacher affair? You could be expelled, and there goes whatever future you could dream of. You are really unintelligent sometimes," He replied hotly, cutting across her sentence.

"The future I dreamed of changed 10 months ago when you MARKED ME AS YOUR MATE!" She screamed back and oh yeah, that probably wasn't a good thing to throw around.

"You are my mate, but I am still your professor. You are still under my protection and under my authority. That didn't change simply because you're sharing my bed, you are my student." He snarled at her viciously and her temper snapped.

"Of course Professor, how silly of me," She said softly, the dead calm in her voice would have had Ron and Harry running for cover with their metaphorical tails between their legs but he just sneered at her. "I apologize for trying to protect your ass."

"I don't need your protection, I need you to use your damned head and look out for yourself. I shouldn't have to babysit you and worry that you're going to crack underneath the pressure of being a student. If you can't handle being my mate, then I will remove your status as such."

"You do that, you could go find Leighanna and fuck her. That's all a mate is right? A little pawn for you to abuse and a hole to use," She screeched at him before turning and taking flight again. The tears that had spilled down her face dried on her face as the wind whisked past her. She heard him yell her name but simply flew faster and soared farther and farther away until she no longer recognized the landscape.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Severus stared after his mate and felt his anger diminish slightly, burn less hot and less violently. He took several calming breaths to calm himself further and began to think of ways to save the situation. The walk back towards the castle was slow and full of random outbursts of anger, most of them cursing his mate and the other half curing bloody Gryffindor's. It looked like he was going to have to have a talk with the Headmistress about this he'd much rather never speak to any Gryffindor about. That thought alone was enough to make him want to just Avada himself, quick and easy, no more infuriating mates and insufferable know-it-alls.

"Severus, why didn't you say you were going—"

"Not now Nott!" Severus snapped as he stormed through the doors and towards the headmistress's office in a black flurry of anger.

"Someone's grouchy," He heard Nott say from behind him and couldn't stop the growl that slipped past his lips.

He slammed into the familiar study, causing the witch behind the desk and the portrait that hung there to quiet instantly. "The 'arrangement' Miss Granger and I are in will not be ending because she is my mate, it won't and cannot end, unless of course you'd like one or both of us to die." He glared at the witch with a sense of satisfaction on his face at the gaping quality her face had adopted.

"A—A bat? Really Severus, I doubt—" Minerva's teeth snapped together as Severus stood and in the blink of an eye a bat was perched on the armchair where he had been standing. She held back a slightly manic laugh at the sight of a bat being able to glare even if it was as big as her shoe. Another blink and the man was standing before her again. "You're—a bat."

"It never ceases to amaze me how very observant Gryffindor's are. How very astute of you." Severus said dryly.

"But—you have feathers."

"Again, very astute. Apparently somewhere down the line of the bat ancestors, someone thought it'd be a brilliant idea to mate with a firebird, while in bat form, hence giving those who followed, feathers. We're all overjoyed I assure you."

"How did Hermione become attached to you in such a…inconvenient way?"

"Let's just say my bite is worse than my bark."

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When Hermione finally returned to her room sometime near dusk it was to find Severus already waiting for her. Her anger had long since burnt out leaving only a mild headache and a few more stress marks for her trouble. Tears welled in her eyes as she thought about the things she had said and she turned helplessly towards Severus. Her mate instantly wrapped her in his arms and she allowed his scent to soothe her.

"I'm sorry. Those were horrible things to say, I don't actually think that, I just don't know what I'll do if you get fired and I get expelled or if you get fired and—"

"Hermione, no one is getting fired or expelled." Severus cut across her, his words slightly muffled by her hair.

But I will follow where ever you decide to go even if it—What do you mean no one is getting fired or expelled? What did you do? You didn't resign did you?" Hermione asked frantically, her voice inching up a few octaves as her hysteria mounted.

"No. Calm yourself before you explode my eardrums. I told Minerva."

"You—told. You told Professor McGonagall? You told her that—what exactly did you tell her?" Hermione asked her voice slightly dazed and faraway.

"Everything about our situation since the war, or the overall theory, something's I refuse to tell a Gryffindor. I already have 4 insufferable ones in my life driving me crazy daily, I don't need anymore."

"Oh, so now I'm insufferable," Hermione teased gently, hugging Severus tightly.

"No, I suffer you just fine," Severus replied with so much sarcasm it positively dripped.

Hermione rolled her eyes as she pulled away and silence reigned as she got ready for bed. "I'm so relieved that you're willing to suffer me."

"I apologize as well. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you. Although if you ever do something that stupid again trying to protect me I'll turn you over my knee and give you a proper spanking." Severus ducked as she whipped a pillow at his head, throwing her a reproachful look before he transformed and took off into the night.

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There you are. A slight explanation as to why my bats have feathers. If you want to read about a Firebird, Google "Firebird". Leave your thoughts please.


	18. Poison

Hermione stumbled down to the Great Hall the next day, and felt the hardened something that had taken up residency in her stomach lessen at the sight of Severus sitting in his normal seat at the head table. She took her place next to Ginny and Luna, both who mumbled greetings but otherwise didn't speak until Ginny's voice broke through her foggy brain.

"Did you two dye your hair?" Ginny ask, making Luna and Hermione look at her curiously.

"Huh?" Hermione said unintelligently.

"Your hair, it's different, slightly darker and more—black," Ginny replied as she tugged on a strand of Hermione's hair. Hermione gathered her own hair in her hands and stared at the tresses. True enough there was a slight darkened quality to her hair, the auburn highlights standing out in harsher contrast against the darkening brown.

"I didn't charm it; maybe it's just from not being in the sun so much?" Hermione shrugged, hoping it came out believable with no trace of the inner confusion she felt.

"Luna must be spending all the time in the sun then, hers is almost snow white," Ginny commented, pointing at the aforementioned girl across from them. Hermione looked up to study Luna's hair in turn and was slightly surprised to see that it had lightened several shades from the dirty blonde to a gleaming blonde that was faintly reminiscent of the white sands at Shell Cottage. It made Luna's eyes stand out brightly in her face, and made her seem even paler than normal.

Luna's eyes met Hermione's and the silent communication of 'what the hell' passed through them. Hermione shook her head a small amount and Luna's attention turned back to her breakfast in understanding. Hermione turned back to her own breakfast, with a slightly less emphatic appetite but her attention was diverted again when Harry suddenly appeared at her shoulder.

"Hermione, can I talk to you?" Harry whispered into her ear. At Hermione's raised eyebrow he added a "please" that made her nod. Harry dropped a quick kiss to the top of Ginny's head as they passed but didn't pause otherwise. Hermione followed Harry out into the entrance hall and towards the library, her interest and curiosity suddenly piqued.

They wound through the aisles and shelves until they turned a corner to see Ron sitting at a table with books lying in front of him. Hermione swallowed hard when she recognized the books as the same ones she had read after the war when she'd first discovered her new state of being. Anger and frustration well up like a rushing wave but Ron's face makes her remain silent.

"Hermione, I know that I was a right arse," Ron starts, stumbling slightly as he tried to rise from his seat. "But, Harry suggested we read up on this—situation."

"Why?" Hermione questions as she crosses her arms in front of her.

"Because we've been friends for 7 years, lived through a war, and—and our grades really suck," Ron said weakly, his attempt at a joke falling flat when Hermione's scowl deepened.

"I see. So instead of realizing that you two were total dunderheads and treated me like rubbish, you simply need me so you don't fail. No thanks." Hermione snapped, prepared to walk away but was stopped when Harry's set his hand on her arm.

"No, no that's not why. We miss you. Like Ron said, we've been friends for the better half of 7 years, and—we've never let anything tear us apart. We love you Hermione, you're family." Harry pleaded, his eyes begging her to understand.

Hermione did understand. Their fights had happened before, preteens and teenagers living together all the time you would fight. It had happened in third year when Ron accused Hermione of Crookshanks eating Scabbers. It had happened again in fourth year when Ron had been convinced Harry had put his name in the Goblet. Exchanging words so harsh that the rift tore them apart until after the first task where Ron had spent the whole time clutching Hermione's hand. Fifth year brought the many challenges of the DA, Umbridge, Sirius, the Ministry, Sirius' death; all things that added more weight onto Harry's shoulders and caused argument after argument. Sixth year was rife with the same troubles; Hermione's disapproval of the Prince's potions book, Harry's perceived cheating, the death of Dumbledore. Then the war. Which had caused the three of them to fight, compromise, live together and trust one another completely; to simply survive. She understood. She understood that this relationship they had, the friendship that had started in a bathroom defeating a troll and flourished, grown, molded them into the powerful inseparable team they were. Could she let that fall apart, could any of them really survive the world without the solid support they had become for each other?

Hermione's eyes filled with tears, hormones and the buried hurt from Ron's words finally manifesting itself through the hot liquid that spilled unchecked down her cheeks. Harry pulled her gently into his arms, where she buried her face in his shoulder to sob. She felt Ron come up behind her and hug her gently, hesitantly, as though sure he would be rebuffed. Hermione turned and pressed her face to his shoulder, hitting his chest with her fist and sobbing.

"If you ev—ever say those things to me again Ronald Weasley, I'll curse you so badly their canaries will seem ta—tame," She sniffled, but her words caused a slight chuckle from Ron and a gentle kiss pressed to her head.

"Well isn't this touching," A familiar sneer said from behind a shelf, and they all jumped apart as Severus walked into sight. His calm face told nothing of his thoughts as Hermione stared at him, wiping her eyes quickly to rid them of tears, but his eyes were a burning black. They flicked from each other their face, to the books lying open on the table behind them, finally coming to rest on Hermione's. A tingle in her mark told her that he wasn't happy, even if his eyes weren't blazing fiery anger in her direction. "Potter, Weasley, don't you have a class to attend?" He snapped out, causing Harry and Ron to glower at him but they remained silent as they left the aisle, throwing looks back at the two of them.

Hermione stood still until their footsteps faded from hearing range, her bat hearing heightening to ensure that they were gone. "Severus—" Hermione started but her sentence was cut off as Severus lunged forward and seized her mouth in a fierce kiss, the force of it causing her to stumble into the table behind her.

Hermione responded to his mouth instantly, opening under his questing tongue and tangling hers with his. They kissed until Hermione started to feel lightheaded and she pulled back, only to gasp in air as he lowered his mouth to her neck and nibbled on the sensitive skin there. He was inhaling deeply as though—smelling her? He was smelling her, sniffing along her skin with small snuffles, the realization made laughter bubble up in her throat. It was quickly quelled by a moan as he reached between her legs, shifting his fingers under her skirt to find the slick moisture under her knickers. He pulled back to look at her face as his fingers danced across her sex, their eyes locking in a embrace that made her skin tingle and spark.

"You smell like the Weasley boy," Severus rasped out, his voice thick and smooth, it wound its way around her like ribbons. "He feels more than friendship for you, I could feel it."

His words took a long time to penetrate her lust addled brain, and she had to focus enough to gasp out words. "It's—it's one sided—You—you are who I wa—want Severus, only you."

These appeared to be the words he wanted to hear because he suddenly dropped to his knees and buried his face into the flesh between her thighs. She tasted blood when she bit her lip to keep from crying out, but she swiped her tongue across it, relishing in the sting. Her hips were pulled forward and she lifted her butt when Severus grasped her knickers and tugged them down. Pausing long enough to shove them into his overcoat pocket before plunging his face back into her. His tongue tickled her entrance, not enough pressure to satisfy but enough to tease. Her hips bucked as his nose bumped her clit but he pulled back.

"Severus please," Hermione babbled, needing more stimulation than his whispered caresses were giving her. His tongue flicked up to tickle her clit, a feather soft movement that made it throb harder. "Please Severus, please. I'm yours, your mate, just yours," she repeated and nearly cried when he finally applied the pressure she desired. His tongue thrust in and out of her hole before returned to swirl around her clit; she trembled when he sucked it gently into his mouth. A final swirl around her clit as he sucked sent her over the edge into oblivion. Her body convulsed and trembled as he worked her through her orgasm. She was still twitching when he abruptly stood, and plunged into her, pausing only for a second before pulling out and thrusting back into her. Her walls shuddered around him, stretching to take his length and easing his passage with each inward lunge. Her previous climax meant that she was sensitive and her body was primed on the edge of another one as he changed the angle.

She was tense and breathless, waiting for that extra sensation when he leaned close and whispered, "Mine," with an extra hard thrust. He caught her clit just so and she was shoved over, biting his shoulder to keep from crying out. The blood rushed through her veins making her head spin at the delicious shivers, clenching tightly as Severus followed her into oblivion. They stood panting for a few minutes until he pulled out, tucking himself back into his pants and helping her off the table. Hermione looked at him as he seemed to remember where they were and who they were in the building, her heart cracked a little bit as his face became impassive and the air around him came a little colder. His eyes suddenly met hers and something of her fear must have showed because he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, so tender in contrast to the furiousness of their previous activity.

"You're late for class," He said softly, his face still closed and expressionless. "5 points from Gryffindor and a detention for tonight for an incomplete uniform."

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but the look he shot her kept her quiet. The reason for his abrupt return to professor mode showed to be the librarian who came bustling around the corner a moment later. She was mumbling about students not putting books back when she caught sight of them.

"Professor Snape, Miss Granger," Madame Pince said plainly her eyes darting back and forth between student and professor.

"Miss Granger, another 5 points for failing to put your books away when done with them. After seven years in this institution one would think you'd remember the rules, though you and your friends always did flaunt them."

Hermione did glare at him then and not a fake glare either. The arse had her knickers in his coat pocket and he was scolding her. The softness in his eyes showed that he meant no malice from it but she growled in mock frustration as she flounced past his, brushing against his arm with more force than necessary and out of the library to class.

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Severus felt like poking himself in the eye with his own wand as the librarian watched his mate storm out of the library, thankful that all her rule breaking with Potter and Weasley at least made her efficient at acting upset. He felt the stare of Madam Pine bore into the side of his head and he turned his most expressionless sneer onto her.

"Was there something you wished to say Irma?"

The older woman looked at him before shaking her head and mumbling as she moved to put away the books on the table. A silent spell allowed him to rid the table and floor of any trace of indecent activity before he turned on his heel and swept from the library.

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It was dinner before Hermione had a chance to catch hold of Luna to talk, and even then it was a short whispered conversation at the Ravenclaw table.

"Any idea why our hair changed?" Hermione whispered to Luna as the other girl filled her plate.

"No idea," Luna whispered back in her slightly dreamy voice. "Ask Snape?"

Hermione nodded, "How're things going with Nott?"

Luna added some sausage to her plate under the pretense of thinking, but her eyes flickered to the head table where Nott's chair was empty. "He's been scouting for a new location for the pack."

"Is he worried?"

Luna gave an elegant one-shouldered shrug, "He hasn't said but I suppose neither has Snape."

Hermione shook her head, "No but we haven't had much chance to talk about the changes. I've got detention tonight," they shared a look and a smile. "So I'll ask about it." She headed back to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Harry.

"Hey 'Mione," Harry greeted with a smile. Ron nodded at her in greeting, his cheeks full of food.

"What essays are due tomorrow?" Hermione questioned as she started putting food on her own plate. Her appetite appeared to be craving meats as she ended up with steak and kidney pie, flobberworm fritter, and tripe. She noticed that she had ceased eating chicken as it tasted foul which was curious.

"History of Magic and Herbology," Ron said when he had swallowed his huge mouthful. Hermione took a moment to be impressed by his ability not to choke before responding.

"Herbology I can help with but I wasn't at History of Magic today."

"Yeah, is Snape that big of an arse that he chewed his own mate out?" Ron asked tactlessly not bothering to monitor his voice. "OW!" He yelped as two sets of shoes connected with his shins.

"Ron you idiot, keep your voice down—"

"You absolute dunderhead Ronald, shut up—"

Ron gaped at Harry and Hermione as they both scolded him at the same time before broke into a grin. "Merlin, I missed that."

Hermione and Harry rolled their eyes in sync and shook their heads. "No Ronald, it wasn't anything like that. I had to clean up the books someone left behind on the table," She commented pointedly enjoying the twin blushes she got. She took a bit of her steak and kidney pie, chewed, and gagged. "Ugh, this is revolting." She picked her napkin up and delicately spit her mouthful out into it.

Ron took a bite off her plate and chewed it, a confused expression spreading across his face, "That's weird. Mine didn't taste like that."

Harry frowned and took a bite in turn, making a face and spitting his out too, "Neither did mine. Where'd you get that?"

Hermione pointed to the dish that she had dished hers from only to gape at the empty spot where it had been. "But—but it was right there!" She stood up suddenly but swayed as her head spun. Harry reached out to steady her but as soon as his hand encircled her wrist pain burst across her skin and through her head making her cry out.

"Hermione!" Harry and Ron cried out, causing the whole hall to go silent and turn to them. Red began to swim in front of Hermione's eyes as the throbbing in her head intensified tenfold. A warm tickling feeling on her shoulder caused her to reach back and pull her hand away covered in blood. She swayed again this time stumbling back into someone standing behind her.

"Miss Granger," a voice called distantly. She turned her head to see Professor McGonagall standing behind her and Severus standing a few feet away. "Miss Granger, hospital wing."

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Severus was getting ready to take a bite of his food when pain burst across his body forcing him to clench his teeth lest he cry out. His eyes tore across to Hermione who was sitting at the Gryffindor table; she tried to stand but swayed. Another ripple of blinding pain swarmed his body as Potter reached out to steady Hermione, and he was out of his seat when she touched her shoulder and pulled it back covered in blood. His entire world shuddered to a stop at the sight of her blood, immediately understand what it meant. Professor McGonagall was out of her seat and on her way towards her student and he shakily got up and followed.

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Madame Pomfrey bustled around Hermione with confidence and accuracy, stopping the poison that was spreading through her system with startling speed. Hermione had fallen unconscious halfway to the hospital wing forcing Severus to carry her the rest of the way. He sent silent thanks that all the students were still at dinner. The throbbing in his body lessened with each passing wave of Madame Pomfrey's wand and disappeared entirely when she poured the antidote down Hermione's throat. Pomfrey gently rolled Hermione onto her side and cut her shirt off revealing a bloody and mangled shoulder. Twin gasps disrupted the otherwise silent wing, and Severus clenched his teeth tightly together. He waited impatiently until the mediwitch had cleaned the blood and gore from the pale shoulder of his mate and he let out a barely audible sigh of relief at the sight of his mark still on the skin.

"Severus, what happened?" Minerva snapped at him, her eyes glued to her young charge when the nurse had finally departed.

"She was given a poison. If it had worked completely, if it hadn't been caught when it had, it would've removed her status," He paused and gave her a pointed look, waiting until she met his eyes before starting again. "It would've rendered her as good as dead, and the person she is linked to completely dead. It's a potion that a person can take if their mate dies. Bats mate for life, for life as in one dies, the other dies unless they can take this. If the healthy person takes this potion, it'll break the mating link and allow that person to live. It's only supposed to be used in that occasion. To use it on a healthy mate, when their mate is also healthy and uninjured, can cause both to die. It targets the mark a mate wears and eats it away, much like Dumbledore's cursed hand." Severus explained gravely.

More silence met his words as the information sunk in, Severus was tense waiting for the inevitable question that would no doubt follow. Sure enough, three minutes later the question was asked.

"Who created such a dastardly potion?"

Severus' gaze met Minvera's, holding it as he said clearly, "I did."

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Severus watched as Minerva stared at him, a ticking in her jaw was like the ticking of a time-bomb. If Severus had been a lesser man, and less amused by her reaction, he probably would've backed away quickly like trying to escape from a dangerous feral animal. As it was, he simply started a mental countdown to when Minerva's silence would break and open the flood gates. Sure enough, just as he reached one her anger finally manifested itself in any angry outburst.

"YOU WHAT?" She shrieked. Severus was quite impressed that she could get her voice that high in her age without bursting a blood vessel.

"I created the potion, however I didn't give it to Miss Granger," He replied drily as though speaking to a very slow child, or a Potter.

"Well thank you for that obvious statement. Let's start with the obvious enquiry, who did give it to her and how did they get access to it?" Minerva snapped as she conjured a chair and sat down with much less of her normal grace. Severus arched a brow as she summoned a tumbler or firewhiskey but wisely kept his mouth closed.

"The place we, that is the other bats, were using as a safe house was recently attacked. A large number of things were missing, one such thing was this potion. The attack was orchestrated by a woman named Leighanna, I believe that is the "who" and the "how". However, the question is, of course, how she managed to get it into the castle and how it ended up in Miss Granger's food. The only solution is she must have an elf employed here." Severus explained, his eyes straying to his mate every few seconds as though she would perish while his eyes were elsewhere. The burning pain in his body had all but abated, leaving only a heavy weight in his stomach, a mixture of worry and fear that had taken up residency as soon as Hermione had collapsed.

"There are hundreds of elves in Hogwarts; I doubt we can question them all!"

"We would not have to. The Hogwarts elves are under ownership of the Hogwarts headmistress and her teachers, the one that does not readily obey their commands will be the one."

"How do you suppose we do that?" Minerva asked slightly sarcastically, taking a rather large gulp of firewhiskey and enjoy the burn as it slid down.

"I have an idea," Severus responded but didn't elaborate when the sound of footsteps echoed up the wing as the medi-witch returned.

"Well, she'll sleep for a time, probably wake up tomorrow the poor dear, the poison is all but gone now, the only lingering effects will be nausea and a headache."

Severus nodded in acknowledgement, casting one last look at the sleeping girl on the bed before turning on his heel and leaving the wing. He walked with purpose towards the Great Hall and was pleased to see Nott leaving the hall by way of the teacher's entrance.

"Severus, what happened?"

"Leighanna," Severus snarled his pace not slowing as he walked out of the castle. He paused at the doors when he noticed Nott was not behind him and looked over his shoulder, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at his friend kissing his mate goodbye. The sight reminded him of his own predicament and a fresh wave of fury swept through him.

"What about her?" Nott asked once he'd caught up and they began their trek down the castle grounds towards the Forbidden Forest.

"The raid she led against the pack was focused; she was after more than just revenge. She took the mate breaking potion."

Nott gaped at him for a moment before shaking his head, "But that would kill Hermione! Which in turn would kill you!"

"I don't think she knew exactly what it would do; I doubt it was her intention to kill me as well."

"What are you going to do?"

"Give her what she wants," Severus replied. Any response Nott could have made was cut off by Severus' transformation and flight into the sky, Nott following swiftly after him.

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Their journey lasted little more than two hours but by the time they transformed and landed, Nott was definitely feeling the long flight. Severus of course was unaffected, as he shifted and immediately began marching towards the mansion that lay a few hundred feet beyond their location. They had barely stepped through the gates guarding the house when they found themselves surrounded on all sides by bats. One lone bat broke off and transformed, revealing the figure of Leighanna.

"Has your mate died dear Severus?" She simpered as she walked towards him.

Severus struck out in an instant, his hand circling her throat in a crushing hold. The bats all began to swarm but stopped when their leader lifted her hand. "She lives Leighanna, and it is lucky too for if she died, I would have too," Severus snarled, pressing tighter on her throat before shoving her away from him.

"You lie," She croaked, a delicate hand coming up to rub her bruising neck.

"I don't. Maybe you should have paid attention to the instructions on the vial before slipping it into her food. It is to be used on an unhealthy mate, one close to dying, and a healthy one. So that the death of a mate doesn't kill the healthy mate. To use it on two healthy mates will kill both of them in minutes!"

Severus felt a thrill of satisfaction as Leighanna's face paled slightly, but the sneer that covered her face crushed any feeling but hate. "I wouldn't dream of killing you lover, only your pesky mate. With her gone, you'd see what a good mate I am. The potential we have together."

Severus' growl rent the air, causing the bats that were hovering nearby to still, and the hair on Nott's neck to stand up. Nott had the impulsive urge to run, or lay on his back in a death pose, but Leighanna merely giggled.

"You are so powerful Severus, so—fierce. It makes me so hot remembering all the good times we've had." Leighanna said huskily as she circled Severus, her hand trailing across his body in a caress that would have ignited his lust a year ago. Now it simply ignited his anger.

"You are not alpha Leighanna, I am the alpha of this continent, I became such when I killed the previous alpha. The only reason you are alive, is because I am allowing it," Severus growled out resolutely glaring ahead.

"You wouldn't kill me Severus; remember all the times we've had together. We can be good again; you can even keep your mate as a play toy." Leighanna coaxed, pressing her ample breasts against Severus' chest.

Nott clenched his hands into fists; unmated bats had certain pheromones they released when other unmated bats were around. The pheromones were strong enough that even Nott could smell them; he knew that Severus could smell them too and had to be going crazy. It wasn't any wonder than the bats surrounding them followed Leighanna without question; any male bat would tear himself inside out to mate with her. Nott kept his mind firmly on the blonde haired beauty waiting for him at the castle, the wonderful feeling he got whenever he saw her, recalling clearly the way she smelled and felt in his arms. It worked; his blood cooled and his head cleared allowing him to refocus on Severus and Leighanna.

"We will never be together Leighanna, cease your attempts," Severus barked commandingly. "Get your house elf out of the castle and do not try this again. Next time I will not be so kind," He motioned to Nott that it was time to leave; they walked backwards away from the pack and turned to transform. Nott took off into the air, and looked behind him. An instinctual rage swept through him at the sight of Severus bound on the ground in bat form, Leighanna hovering over him in her own form. He sped towards her and slammed into her tiny body, both of them transforming before they hit the ground. Nails scratched at his face drawing blood and causing him to hiss out in pain. Years of having the rule of not hitting women kept him from fighting back, taking the blows and trying to get the furious woman off him. A glint of teeth caught his attention and he panicked when he saw Leighanna lowering her head.

"No! I have a mate," Nott grunted, trying with increasing vigor to get the woman off.

"You should not have interfered with my plan." Nott cried out as he felt the tip of her tooth press against his neck.

Severus finally managed to get the ties loose and transformed, reaching Nott and Leighanna, he grabbed Leighanna and threw her with all his strength backwards and immediately bent over his longtime friend. Blood from the wound was dripping down sluggishly with each pound of Nott's heart and Severus pressed his mouth over the wound. He heard Nott weakly cry out again but refused to respond until all the mating saliva was out of his blood stream. Severus forced himself to keep sucking, the taste and feeling of blood that wasn't his mates coursing into his mouth made him cringe. He removed his mouth and spit out a huge glob of blood before wiping his hand across his lips.

Nott's eyes were closed, his skin sallow and pale against the dark ground. Severus smacked his face a few times only stopping when he got a groan in response. He helped Nott up and held him until the other man gave a weak nod, then stepped away. They finally turned their attention towards the other figures and saw that all the bats had transformed and was standing a few feet away. The two men walked over, Severus leaving Nott's side at the sight of Leighanna's form on the ground. He pressed two fingers to her neck, and hung his head when he felt only stillness.

"Is she dead?" Nott croaked out, stepping closer to Severus.

"Yes." Was the short reply. Severus search her body for signs of wounds, and felt a twinge of guilt when his search revealed that her neck had been broken. The result of the force of him throwing her, the proof of how strong he was even without his magic. The sound of shifting bodies turned his attention towards the people standing around him, all of them looking various shades between anger, heartbreak, and uncertainty. By all rights he could banish them all, condemn them all to death, force them to leave Britain but his raising had taught him to offer refuge.

"You may stay and join the others, but if you choose not to, you will leave. You will leave Britain and join another pack elsewhere." Severus commanded, using the full brunt of his status as leader to face them. A few of the people standing around shifted uneasily, more than half lowered their eyes and stepped forward in surrender, eight or nine transformed and took off. "The choice is yours, take the options presented now." A few more took flight, and the others kept their eyes averted.

"You would offer us forgiveness and refuge, regardless of our part in attacking your people and your mate?" A voice spoke up; a young male appeared to be the speaker.

Severus studied him, meeting his almost defiant glare with his own gaze, "Not all of us were raised with clear views of good and bad." The defiant glare wavered, and finally lowered at his words, the shoulders of the boy falling. "What is your name?"

"Austin."

"How old are you Austin?"

"16."

"Where are your parents?" Nott spoke up for the first time. Austin's gaze shot up to his, shifting to Severus' before lowering again.

"They were killed during the war."

Severus and Nott shared a look, "I will take to you the new location, Nott return to the castle. Your mate is no doubt worried."

Nott had the curious urge to gulp nervously as the flurry of bats shifting filled the air, a moment later, he was gone.

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Nott entered his quarters and stopped at the sight of the familiar blonde head sitting in an armchair. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. Luna looked around and her eyes narrowed when she saw him.

"Let me explain—" Nott started.

"Let you explain? LET YOU EXPLAIN? Explain why I've been in tears and pain all night? Why my mark has been throbbing? Why it started bleeding? Yes please, explain!"

"You remember Leighanna?" A nod. "Well it goes like this…"

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Severus led the bats to the new location, a mansion that had been kept in his family for years. It was guarded by more than just the steel gates and was huge in its size. The surrounding land was filled with rolling green lawns and a thick forest. Severus transformed and felt the wards ripple around him as he opened the gate and stepped back to let the others in before him. As they walked towards the house Severus' gaze flicked over the many towers that made up the building. It looked rather more like the builder had made several different smaller houses, and then stuck them together. The front of the building was dominated mostly by windows, which were light brightly in the evening darkness. He opened the front door and beckoned the others in front of him then stepped in and resealed the wards.

Directly in front of them was a grand staircase, at the top of which stood a large portrait of Severus's uncle. Footsteps approached him and Toby walked out of the door that lead to the kitchen. He was holding a large sandwich and was chewing energetically, he froze however when his eyes landed on Severus and the group.

"Hof arb dey?" Toby said through a mouthful of food and Severus enjoyed a moment to see yet another difference between them.

"You're not 12, swallow your food then try again." Severus drawled.

Toby rolled his eyes and made an impressive show of swallowing before asking again. "Who are they?"

"Other bats," Severus responded as he began walking towards the stairs and climbing them. The humans behind him followed in silence, all of them either looking around or watching their interaction.

Toby stared blankly at him and raised an eyebrow but shrugged and went back to his sandwich. "Are you two twins?" Austin's voice peeped up from the back of the group.

"No," Toby and Severus replied at once, then glared at each other. "It's a complicated story," Toby retorted with a grin and Severus said, "Not one for tonight either," when Austin's mouth opened again.

"Show them to the various rooms," Severus said to Toby, who gave him a look that was just barely challenging.

"You're not staying?"

Severus shook his head, "Problems at the school." At Toby's cocked head Severus clarified, "It's been handled." He waited for a nod from Toby before turning and leaving the house.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxX

Hermione woke up to a pounding head and the taste of vomit in her mouth; she slowly blinked her eyes open and almost groaned at the sight of the Hogwarts Infirmary ceiling. She wiggled her toes and took stock of the different aches in her body; the most apparent one besides her head was her shoulder. Warmth against her hand made her look down but saw nothing there. Her brow furrowed in confusion until the warmth shifted and a slight snore sounded in the air accompanied by a sigh of breath against her hand. A silent spell and a few moments later revealed a sleeping Severus slumped over on her bed, and she had to bite her lip to keep from giggling at the squished quality of his lips that was caused by his cheek on his hand. Her heart swelled with admiration and love as she looked over him and contemplated how to wake him up. She was just deciding to do it gently when Professor McGonagall entered the hall and slammed the door behind her.

Severus was out of his chair and standing before his eyes were even open. A giggle escaped Hermione at the sight of his hair sticking up slightly on one side and an impression of his hand where his cheek had been resting on it. McGonagall came to a stop in front of Hermione's bed and shot a look at Severus that Hermione's couldn't quite define.

"Severus," Minerva said and Severus resisted the urge to groan.

"Yes Minerva?"

"Have you—resolved the issue?" Minerva asked delicately, her eyes flicking to Hermione who was watching the interaction closely.

"Yes." Severus commented without further explanation but Minerva just nodded and left the wing again.

Hermione watched Severus as he stared after McGonagall, his jaw tensing and relaxing a few times before he turned his attention back to her.

"How're you feeling?" He queried as he sat back down in his previously abandoned chair.

"Like I was hit by the Hogwarts Express then dropped off a broom. What issue was resolved?" Hermione croaked as she struggled to sit up. Strong arms came to her aide and helped her lean against the pillows, Severus then poured her a goblet of water and holding it out to her.

"You were poisoned," Severus explained without preamble.

Hermione gaped at him, not moving until he waved the goblet of water in front of her face, and she finally grabbed it. She took a small sip, then a much larger gulp when her stomach didn't protest. The goblet was emptied before she asked her next question. "With what?"

"It was a mate breaking potion I created. It was meant to be given to the healthy mate if his or her mate was dying to save them from the same fate. It targets the marks mates wear when they're mated. If it's given to a human, the human returns to a full human; if it's given to a bat, it causes the mating urges to be triggered to find a new mate. To give it to a healthy bat, when their mate is also healthy, causes negative reactions. I told you bats mate for life, and the reason why is because when two magical bats mate, or a witch and a magical bat, or vice versa; their magic becomes intertwined. To try to sever that is…dangerous."

Hermione digested this news for nearly 5 minutes before murmuring, "Leighanna."

"Yes. The attack that was staged against the pack was focused, she knew of the existence of the potion but not the workings of it."

"I hate that bitch," Hermione seethed quietly, glaring at the blanket across her legs. "What if she tries again?"

"She won't."

"You sound awfully sure," Hermione said dubiously. She grew suspicious when his eyes flicked away from hers to studying the goblet in her hand. "What did you do? You—you didn't kill her did you? Severus you can't just kill people anymore."

"She attacked my mate, she attacked my best friend!" Severus exploded angrily. The worry and anger he felt before surfacing and taking hold of him. "It was an accident. I threw her off of Nott and the force broke her neck."

Hermione gasped, "I'm sorry." Severus scoffed, he leaned forward and seized her lips in a furious kiss before turning and leaving. "I have class to teach."

"Severus—," Hermione called out but the only answer was the firm sound of the wing door shutting.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxX

Nott woke to fingers tracing over the still healing mark left by Leighanna and Severus last night. Though it had fully healed with help from magic, Luna had made sure to remark him, several times, to reaffirm her claim. He shivered against the sensation and opened his eyes. The blonde head and blue eyes of his mate greeted him and a sleepy smile spread across her face.

"Mornin'," He rasped, his voice sleep thick and dry. "I'm sorry."

"You already apologized, I forgave you, it's done. Sorry for getting so rough," Luna replied as her eyes traced across the various bruises he bore.

"Are you kidding? That was great," Nott joked. "Rough sex is good sex." His chuckle died in his throat when his mate suddenly straddled him and he was encased in her still slick head. "Ahh—."

"Let me show you how good it can be when it's slow and sweet," Luna teased as her hips began to move. Nott's hands came up to hold her hips and gave himself over to the careful ministrations of his very talented mate.


	19. Chocolate Fixes Everything

Hermione walked into the Great Hall the next morning and slammed herself down at the Gryffindor table. Her night had gone fabulously well after her argument with Severus. If by well you meant being kept up all night because the gut wrenching pain of her uterus throwing a tantrum. She had always thought her periods were bad before now, but after gaining a set of wings? Oh no, those periods were like freaking child's play compared to these ones. Her body hurt, she slept very little, and worse of all she wanted to get shagged so bad that it hurt more than the cramps.

"Hello 'Mione," Ron said around a mouthful of food.

"Bloody hell Ronald, you're 18 years old can you please act like you're a human being instead of a damn animal?" Hermione snarled back. The entire hall fell quiet at her outburst and she looked up to see Harry and Ron staring at her in shocked fear.

"Uh— are you—ya know, on your—"

"Merlin help you if you finish that sentence Harry James Potter I'm going to take this bowl of bacon and shove it so far down your throat you won't have to worry about chewing." Harry's mouth dropped open and Ron paled slightly.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Severus knew as soon as she walked into the Great hall that morning that today was not going to be easy. He could smell Hermione's change in hormones all the way across the hall, and it made his stomach clench as arousal skittered up and down his spine. The pheromones coming from his mate made him slightly dizzy but he managed to keep control of his reaction. His gaze flicked sideways to Nott who had stiffened and was looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"What the hell?" Nott asked him urgently.

"That, would be my mate in heat," Severus replied drily. Nott took another deep breath before he shook his head.

"That's—Merlin. Smells like a wet—"

"If you finish that sentence Theodor you are not going to be happy," Severus growled out. Nott stiffened slightly before he dropped his gaze from Severus' and tipped his head to the side exposing the left side to Severus. The low growling from Severus subsided immediately and he took several deep breaths to calm his temper.

"Sorry," Nott whispered out somewhat hoarsely.

Severus nodded but was saved from replying as the sound of his mates voice made everyone in the hall fall silent.

"—shove this bowl of bacon so far down your throat you won't have to worry about chewing." Hermione's voice was about as warm as a glacier and the unmistakable signs of anger already showed in her tense frame. Nott choked on the mouthful of juice he had just taken and coughed quietly, after a few minutes Severus was pretty sure the shaking in his shoulders were from laughter. He shot a glare at his oldest friend before rising from his chair and walking calmly from the head table down towards his mate.

XxxXXxxXXxxX

"Miss Granger, what seems to be the problem?" A familiar voice asked making Hermione close her eyes and breathe before answering.

"Just the normal ignorance that comes from men Professor," Hermione spat back not bothering to look up from where she was buttering her toast. The hall was so quiet you should hear a feather drop, as it was it seemed that even the professors at the Head Table were holding their breath.

"Miss Granger, you will accompany me to the hospital wing, and then you're going to spend the day in detention." A darkened scowl twisted Hermione's face as she slammed her butter knife down on the table and flounced out of the hall in front of Severus. Once they were away from the hall and a few corridors from the hospital wing, Severus grabbed her elbow and led her down a side corridor. Hermione's back connected painfully with the wall as he shoved her into a darkened cove and crossed her arms over her chest.

"What is the matter with you?" Severus hissed out, leaning towards her so that his voice wouldn't carry.

"What the hell do you think is the matter with me?" She growled back, arousal spiking high in her hormone riddle body as his scent surrounded her.

"You need to get ahold of yourself. I understand—"

"No you don't. You don't understand. Men never understand. My uterus is ripping itself apart because I didn't put your offspring in it. So it's throwing a bloody, moody, stupid fucking temper tantrum. I'm tired, I'm sore, and I'm horny but can that be helped? No. Of course not, because heaven forbid we actually have sex while I'm—" Her rant was cut off as Severus seized her mouth. If she thought she was aroused before, the taste and feel of his tongue warring with hers made it worse. Her hands came up to tangle in his hair and she pressed her body against his. Hermione felt Severus' hands grip her hips as he pressed her against the wall behind her, their mouths fused together as their tongues did a familiar dance. A whimper escaped her when Severus finally broke the kiss and took a step away from her.

"Hermione, we can't do this, not while you're—" Hermione cut his words off with her lips, and licked her way into his mouth before he could protest; though it was obvious from the way that he continued to kiss her that his protests weren't all that important to him. She slipped her hands down his shoulders to his waist, and began to pull his shirt from him trousers when her wrists were grabbed in a very tight hold. Severus pulled away again and Hermione may or may not have whined.

"We can't do thissss—" His words ended on a hiss as he felt her hand suddenly pressing against his erection through his trousers. Whatever idea of self-control he thought he had went directly out the window.

Hermione was suddenly pinned against the wall by Severus' body, his hands tearing over her body in a frantic caress. Her shirt was pulled up and her bra down as he lowered his mouth to her breast and nibbled on the already hardened bud before lavishing the same attention on her right breast. The arousal that had been boiling before now positively exploded, making her head spin and her body thrum with pleasure. Her underwear vanished and Severus paused in his assault of her chest.

"When did you—"

"This morning it stopped, please, God please Severus. I need—" Hermione whimpered as Severus pressed his fingers into her slick warmth and the tight silkiness that surrounded his fingers made his erection throb painfully. He removed his fingers and stood, jerkily opening his trousers and exposing his length to the slightly cold air before he lifted Hermione up by the back of her knees. Her legs immediately wound around his hips and he guided himself into her waiting body groaning lightly as he was fully encased within her.

There was a pause, while Severus tried to keep from coming inside of her, the noises that were falling unconsciously from Hermione's mouth only enflamed him more. Finally, he started to move, using his strength and a silent hovering spell on her to aid him. Hermione tipped her head back and bit her lip against the overwhelming pleasure that was sending fireworks through her body. Gravity was helping him go deeper as he thrust into her, his strokes smooth but firm leaving a fire licking through her swollen walls. Their eyes met and locked as he pumped in and out of her, his thrusts growing frantic as he began to feel the beginnings of his orgasm. He stopped, twisted his hips slightly, and then began moving again, this time catching her clit with each upward thrust. The only warning he received of her rush towards completion was a slight widening of her eyes then she fell apart, her walls clamping around him and effectively pulling his own climax out of him. His hips stuttered slowly as he jerked his way through his release dragging her aftershocks out until she whimpered from overstimulation.

Hermione's feet were placed on the floor after Severus withdrew, and she suddenly felt a dead weight settle in her stomach when he stepped away from her to straighten his clothing. His actions were rough, angry, as he shoved himself back into his trousers. She bit her lip as she smoothed her own clothing, then debated before reaching out to touch his hand effectively stilling his movements.

"Severus—" She broke off when he looked at her, his eyes flashing with barely reigned anger and she bent her head. When she removed her hand from his arm he swiftly turned and walked down the hall, leaving her behind him to follow.

XxxXXxxXXxxX

Severus was seething, anger making his steps short and brisk as he walked towards his classroom. He could feel and hear Hermione's gaze as she walked behind him, but he didn't slow his steps. The trek to his classroom wasn't long enough to cool his temper and when they both entered he slammed the door after him ignoring his mates flinch as he threw up silencing charms with a careless flick of his hand.

"Severus—"

"Are you trying to get pregnant?" Severus asked over her sentence, his voice hard with frustration and anger.

"What? No. I'm not. I just—didn't think."

"Yes that was very clear," Severus sneered as he walked further into his classroom, moving past Hermione to sit at his desk.

"Oh shove it would you?" Hermione snapped out, her patience already running thin. Her stomach was cramping painfully but she wasn't sure if it was from anger or her monthly cycle.

"Excuse me?" Severus inquired his voice dangerously low.

"I'm not trying to get pregnant; I already know what would happen. I just—I just needed you," Hermione finished on a whisper, her words caused him to close his eyes and tip his head back, as though praying for patience. She walked over until she was standing to the left of his chair, and waited for him to reopen his eyes. Their eyes met again and she felt a small shiver run down her spine at the intensity in his gaze. "I'm sorry."

Severus snorted in amusement but stood from his chair and pulled her slighter body against his. He pressed his lips to her hair and gently pulled her against his chest, breathing in her familiar scent. The smell of jasmine and vanilla mixed with her natural musk and arousal he could still smell, pheromones still wafting off her though they were less concentrated. "I am sorry, it's not entirely your fault, though I will warn you that future attempts like this will not be wise."

Hermione raised her head and stared at him, his face was serious, grave to a degree she hadn't seen since he explained her change to her last year. "I didn't plan on it, you were there and I just—I don't know, needed you."

Severus nodded in understanding as he reached down to pull a desk drawer open and retrieved two vials from inside its depths. He handed them both to her and waited for her to take them before hugging her again.

Hermione swallowed down the contents of the vials and gagged on the thick sweetness. "What did I just drink?" She coughed out once she managed to keep the revolting liquid down.

"A powerful contraceptive, and a pain relieving potion. The potion will make you—" Severus' words were cut off as Hermione suddenly slumped against him. He caught her easily and looked down at her sleeping face. "—sleepy." A small smile graced his lips as he picked her up and carried her into his rooms.

XxxXXxxXXxxX

It was dark when Hermione woke up, her brain foggy and her memories muddled. She sat up from bed and looked around the room fruitlessly. The search for her wand revealed that she wasn't in the clothing she had put on in the morning. Memories flooded back and she bolted out of bed, cursing and stumbling through the room until she found the door handle.

"—Austin is doing well and has settled into the pack quite well." Hermione followed the sound of Nott's voice to Severus' sitting room where Nott was sitting in an armchair while Severus worked at his desk. "Well if it isn't sleeping beauty. Have you sorted out your—feminine issues?"

Severus looked up and glanced over Hermione from head to toe, apparently checking to make sure she was fine before bending back over his work. Hermione sat down on the arm of the nearest couch and glared at Nott. "Nott, I started the day in a pool of my own blood. Would you like me to end your day in the same way?"

Severus chuckled as Nott paled slightly at the images but shook his head. "That's—that's—gross."

Hermione giggled at his face as Severus leaned back and said, "Just wait till it happens to Luna, Theodor. You won't be so crass then."

"Merlin help me." Nott muttered as he sat back heavily and pouted. Severus ignored him and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"What time is it?" She queried after a few moments of silence.

"Gone 7 now," Severus responded not looking up from his grading.

Hermione squawked just as her stomach gave a loud grumble. "Why didn't you wake me? I had things to do! What about Harry and Ron, they probably think you killed me and ate me for dinner."

It was Nott's turn to laugh as Severus rolled his eyes, "The nosey twins came to bug me at around 5, to make sure I didn't 'eat you'. At which point I attempted to wake you but got a pillow in my face for my troubles. Forgive me for letting you sleep," Severus said drily.

"What did you tell them?"

"That you had decided to go down to the great lake for a nice swim, I don't remember seeing them at dinner for they're probably still looking for you."

"Severus," Hermione scolded though the grin on her face ruined the effect. "You're horrible. What if they were to get hurt or eaten?"

"I get so few pleasures out of life," Nott opened his mouth to say something but Severus said, "However, Nott saying stupid things and me hexing him is one of them." Hermione laughed outright when Nott clicked his mouth shut. "Ezmeralda!'

A pop sounded throughout the room as a little house elf appeared in the middle of the room. "You is calling sir?" The little figure was wearing a black tea cozy and a little hat, and Hermione wondered why it was lacking the Hogwarts crest like the white ones the others wore.

"Yes, can you please bring Miss Granger some food."

The elf turned towards Hermione and studied her for a moment before bowing slightly, "What is the miss wanting?"

Hermione flushed slightly, "Oh uh, just something small. Maybe some hot chocolate and cheese, some eggs maybe. If it's not a bother." Ezmeralda bowed again and disappeared with a pop. Once she was gone, Hermione turned to Severus and stared at his bent head. "I didn't know you had a house elf. Why is she wearing black?"

"The questions begin," Severus muttered as he put his quill down. Hermione glared at him but softened when he smiled at her. "She was a family elf, one that my father hated immensely despite nearly running her into the ground with chores for her. When I came here, Dumbledore allowed her to come but she refused to wear the white uniform, preferring the black more."

Hermione's response was halted in her throat as the house elf in question reappeared with a tray laden with food. There was a heaping pile of cheesy eggs, a steaming cup of hot chocolate, and a roast beef and ham sandwich. Hermione's stomach gave another loud rumble as the smell of the food reached her nose. She started eating immediately, two sandwiches gone before she felt eyes on her. Severus had gone back to his work but Nott was staring at her with amusement on his face. "What?" Hermione asked defensively.

"Do you always—"

"I would not finish that question if you value your life," Severus interrupted, a smile clear in his voice even if his face was hidden. Hermione laughed at the look on Nott's face, but froze as she felt a gushing wetness from between her thighs the wetness was accompanied by a sharp slice of pain so powerful her stomach turned. Severus' head jerked up at the strangled noise that escaped Hermione's mouth, a sudden flare of distress settling in his stomach that wasn't his and he was next to her before Nott could ask what was wrong.

"What's wrong?" Severus asked urgently, looking over Hermione for a sign of the cause of her anguish. Hermione's tear filled brown eyes flicked from him to Nott and back, the message in them clear. "Nott, leave please." Nott's eyebrows furrowed but he left without a word.

Once he was gone Hermione felt the tears that made her vision blurry spill down her cheeks. Her face burned red from embarrassment, and she ducked her head. "Can you turn around?" She whispered, hoping Severus would do it without question. Relief flooded through her as he did as she asked, allowing her to get up from the armchair and clean up the mess on the fabric silently then dash away towards the bathroom.

XxxXXxxXXxxX

Severus heard her feet hit the hard floor and he turned his head slightly, realization flooded through him as he caught sight of the blood on the seat of the sleep pants he had put her in. 'Well at least she isn't pregnant,' Severus thought and he placed a heating spell over her food and went back to his grading.

When an hour later she hadn't come back out of the bathroom, he began to get worried. He stood up from his desk and walked towards the bathroom, only to be met with a closed door and silence beyond. He knocked on the door lightly, and heard rustling within, "Hermione, is everything okay?"

The only response he got was a sniffling sound, he tried the doorknob and found it unlocked. He opened the door to see his mate sitting on the floor with red eyes and the miserable look on her face made his heart twinge. "Go away," Hermione croaked out as he stood there staring at her.

Severus shook his head as he walked into the room and over to the bathtub that sat in the center. A few seconds later, steam rose from the tub mixing with the soothing aroma of chamomile and honey. Hermione watched Severus stroll around gathering various things, before exiting the room and coming back with her tray of food. Severus walked over to Hermione and held his hand out to her, waiting patiently until she took it before guiding her over to the now full tub. He stripped the clothing off of her, not even blinking at the blood on them as he vanished them and then helped her sit in the water. He smiled slightly when a satisfied sigh fell from her lips as she settled in the water, a surprised noise escaping her.

"There's a pain reliever in the water, I made it for when—the Dark Lord was particularly enthusiastic with his punishments."

Hermione nodded in acceptance and sank deeper into the water until the only thing visible was the tops of her breasts and one knee. She tipped her head back against the pillow and felt more tears slip down her face. Severus felt his stomach clench at the sight of it and he knelt down next to her. "What's wrong?"

A shrug answered his question, but Hermione's lip trembled. "Tell me," Severus commanded softly.

"It's just—embarrassing. I feel so stupid."

Severus had to bite his tongue to keep from chuckling, and schooled his face into grave understanding. "It's a natural reaction, and there's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"You must be so disgusted," Hermione mumbled out as she tried to slip under the water, an endearing blush coloring on her face.

Severus put a finger under her chin and forced her to look at him, tears against swimming in her brown eyes. "Quite the contrary, your body is functioning as it should. It's a sign that your body is fertile, and able to conceive children. Why would knowing my mate is fertile and able to provide me with children disgust me?"

The smile he got from these words stole his breath for a moment; it was radiant in its entirety, erasing sadness and misery from her young face. He pressed his lips to her forehead when he stood then again to her lips before handing her the hot chocolate and leaving her to her bath.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxX

Hermione smiled as Severus slipped out of the bathroom, and she breathed deeply as she sank deeper into the water. The warmth of the water was soothing on both the throbs inside her radiating from her core, and the throbbing that was coming from her back and inner thighs. Sex caused soreness even on a bed, but against a wall was sure to cause all sorts of uncomfortableness. A twinge of guilt flared in her stomach accompanied with no small amount of embarrassment at the fact that she had all but thrown herself at her mate when she was in the bat version of heat. She didn't even really remember consciously making the decision, but he had been so close and smelled so good—

She immediately stopped that thought. No way could her body handle more thoughts like that. She'd probably go back into a horny rage again and that definitely wouldn't make Severus happy. The door opened and the man she had just been thinking about stepped back in.

"Nott and I have to go to the house; apparently there was a scuffle between To—two of the bats." Severus said exasperation heavy in his voice.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Hermione asked without thought and shifted to sit up in the tub.

"Do I want my mate, who is in heat, in a house with at least a dozen unmated males? Gee, that's a tough question." Hermione rolled her eyes at the sarcasm.

"Careful there Severus, you might slip on your excessive use of sarcasm," She quipped back, smiling innocently when he gave her a look that spoke clearly of his suffering.

"Watch it chit."

Hermione smile softly as he walked over and kissed her forehead, before leaving the room again with a soft "I love you" tossed over his shoulder. She settled back in the bath, and after a few seconds she summoned a book to read. Might as well enjoy the silence.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Severus and Nott transformed just as the front door to the house appeared and touched down with barely a sound. It spoke of their long friendship and easy companionship that they didn't need to speak in order to open the door and set off in a direction of the sitting room where they could hear raised voices.

"—you even follow him when he isn't even here? A leader doesn't abandon those he's supposed to be in charge of. He's a shit alpha."

"Coming from a man-child who was following a psycho-bitch you'll forgive me if I don't take your opinion seriously."

"She at least made sure that everyone was safe. Do you know how easy it was to break into your cave? It was child's play. She was a real alpha and that arse killed her! He's useless! He doesn't deserve to be alpha."

Nott and Severus entered the room just in time to see Toby pull his wand at point it at the young boy who was red-faced. The room was filled with the other members of the pack, though they all looked like they'd rather be anywhere else from there.

"ENOUGH!" Severus roared out just as Toby opened his mouth to throw a hex. The bats present immediately moved into their forms showing submission in the face of his authority. Even Toby shifted, though he continued to hover in the air somehow managing to glare at the boy like a live dart ready to attack at any moment. "Everyone, OUT!"

Nott ducked to avoid being hit as 20 or so bats all tried to escape through the door at once. He scowled at Severus when he caught sight of the older man's smirk and grumbled slightly. Movement out of his eye made both of them turn their focus back to the boy, who had been the only one to refuse to transform. A blatant act of defiance and challenge he was too young to understand.

Severus stepped towards the boy smoothly, though the flash of his eyes told Nott that he was not ignorant nor impressed by the teens actions. Toby, who had been hovering nearby, positively dropped to the couch behind him in an effort to get out of the alpha's way. They had reached a certain understanding that though they were the same person, Severus was very clearly more the alpha than Toby.

"What seems to be the problem?" Severus asked the boy in front of him, ignoring Nott and Toby completely, and finally came to a stop just short of the boys personal space.

Austin audibly swallowed as the alpha neared him but he squared his shoulder and lifted his chin. "You're not a good leader, a good alpha. If you were, you wouldn't leave those under your protection, alone and without defenses." The boy accused.

"The people in this house are protected, so highly in fact that it would be impenetrable to those not welcome."

"Yet Leighanna and the others were able to slip past—"

"That is because at one time Leighanna was welcome in the cave, she was part of this pack until she joined forces against us."

"Why are we not allowed to leave then? Do you mean to make us prisoners?"

"No one here is a prisoner, you are simply not able to leave in your form."

"Why?"

"It's dangerous." Austin snorted derisively but Severus spoke over him. "The Ministry and the general wizarding public knows little about us. They know we exist but if they were to figure out who we were, they would attempt to use, breed, and recreate us."

"But—"

Nott stepped forward, smoothly going around his alpha and crowding the young bat in front of him. "Why did you come back with us? Why did you not leave with the others? You had a choice. Severus, your alpha, gave you the choice. To leave or to be accepted into the fold without question. You knew that he would be in charge yet you came, why?"

Austin looked distinctly uncomfortable under the wrath of Nott's anger. While Severus was the calm collected Alpha, Nott was the opposite, he was the heated and impulsive beta that would react to any perceived threat. It had been that way for as long as the two men had known each other. Severus had often thought that Nott would make a fine alpha some day when he was forced to pass the position on. He gave Nott some leeway and watched as his friend and beta berated the boy.

"I—I didn't think he'd be such a shit alpha," Austin argued, though it was somewhat weakly.

Nott growled slightly and took another half step closer, "That's bullshit. You followed Leighanna because she promised you a taste of her, did that ever happen? No? I didn't think so. You've never had a proper alpha. Try again."

Movement in the corner of Severus' eyes caught his attention and he watched as Toby shifted silently back to human form, though he remained seated. He was staring at Austin in something akin to sadness and something Severus couldn't decipher. Interesting.

"He killed Leighanna! I had no choice after she was gone, he forced me to come." Austin screamed at Nott, who simply blinked at the boy before throwing his head back and laughing. This clearly enflamed the boy even more and he lunged; all 150 pounds of furious teen launched himself at Nott who was caught off guard. The two tumbled to the ground, Austin on top and punching every bit of Nott he could reach though his hits were untrained and blinded by anger.

Severus leaned down and grabbed the kid by the back of his shirt, effectively stopping his struggles by growling. Austin continued to struggle until the fight left him with a sob and he went limp in Severus' hand. A eye blink later and Severus was left holding a tiny bat who was shaking uncontrollably and laying limping in his large hand. Severus let the bat sit for a few moments before he started speaking again. "Why did you come back here? Why did you not go with the others?" When the bat didn't move, nor did it shift his temper flared. "Shift and answer me before I make you leave!"

"Everyone leaves!" Austin roared as from one breath to the next he was a shaking, angry human once again. "You and your stupid Voldemort killed my parents and no one else wanted me! Leighanna promise me that she would take care of us. She promised that I would have a family. But you killed her! YOU KILLED MY FAMILY! You—you killed my family." Austin sobbed and he crumpled into the couch next to Toby.

Severus for his part felt the familiar burn of guilt start in his gut. The same way it always had whenever his life with the Dark Lord was brought up. He looked at Nott, momentarily lost for words as he watched his friend wipe blood from his lip, but when Nott met his eyes they were filled with similar regret. The only sound in the room was Austin's whimpering cries and Severus had opened his mouth when a new, unfamiliar scent swept through the air. It took a moment for Severus to recognize it, but once he did, it sent a jolt of surprise through him so strong he actually gasped.

"Toby—Outside. Now." Severus demanded, waiting until the man had gotten up and left before he silently ordered Nott to stay with Austin.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

He followed his counterpart out after assuring himself that Nott would watch Austin, and caught up to Toby outside the door which he promptly shoved the man against. "What the hell was that?"

"What was what?" Toby replied hoarsely. A grunt escaped him when Severus shoved his forearm into his throat but a grimace was Severus' only response.

"He's a child!"

"He's almost 18!" Toby protested weakly against the force currently cutting off his air supply. "I can't help it!" At Severus disbelieving look, Toby shook his head. "No, I mean it. Why did you mark Hermione? She was everything you needed in a mate before you even realized it. Her intelligence, personality, and strength must have matched your otherwise it wouldn't have worked."

Severus knew that, he knew that you couldn't just randomly mark someone. The person had to be a match for you, there had to be things in common such as magical strength, intelligence, leadership qualities. It wasn't a gamble; it wasn't something that was a whim. Otherwise there would be more mates dying because they couldn't stand each other. It was something uncontrolled and instinctive. You could choose not to mate with the person though, but your life would be shortened considerably.

"It won't change anything, I—I know my boundaries," Toby whispered out.

"What did you start fighting about?"

Another grimace, "He—he apparently is aware of my—my interest."

Severus waited for more but when it wasn't forthcoming, he prodded Toby, "and?"

"I told him that anything inside the pack had to be taken through the Alpha, it wasn't something that could just—I panicked. He's young, and it's a permanent thing. It's too big to take on right now." Toby rambled on. "It's not as though I could just sentence myself or him to a fling and then it turn out to be a death sentence when he works out his sexuality issues—Ow!" Toby scowled and rubbed the side of his head where Severus had just walloped him.

"If he was aware of your interest—he obviously isn't conflicted or—confused," Severus said blandly. He opened his mouth to say more but the door behind Toby suddenly popped open with such force that Toby's head snapped forward. He groaned and stumbled out of the way just as Austin came barreling out of the door. The teen paused to look between Severus and Toby before his face blackened and he stormed up the stairs.

"Austin—wait—," Toby called after him but a rude hand gesture and a slamming door was his only reply. A defeated sigh came from Toby and they both turned to look at Nott.

"What? I'm not the one that lied to him and told him that his sexual interest had to be taken up through the leader. How was I supposed to know to lie to him?" Nott explained, looking far to amused at the situation than he should have. Toby shot him a look as black as Austin's before he turned and stalked up the stairs.

"Ah love," Nott said in a sing-song voice, smirking at Severus when the older man looked at him. Severus rolled his eyes with a slight shake of his head as they headed back out the door.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Hermione felt her pillow being pulled out from underneath her cheek and she flew into wakefulness almost immediately. "Whazgoinon?"

A snort answered her mumbled question followed by a familiar voice, "You were drooling on the book and ruining the ink."

Hermione scowled as she picked her head up and wiped her slightly wet cheek. "Like you don't drool when you sleep, everyone drools."

"Yes, but I refrain from doing so on books. What book is this? I don't recognize it," Severus asked as he quickly changed into sleep trousers.

"It's an American fiction my—my parents got me actually. It was their last gift to me before—well before." Severus was at a loss for a proper response so he simply nodded as he slid into bed next to her. "What was the problem with the bats?"

Severus was silent as he struggled for an answer, "Argument between two of them, wanting to become mate but one of them was cautious and uncertain so he lied."

"Hm."

Severus kissed her forehead and they snuggled together as they drifted off to sleep.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Life continued on a fast track as finals approached, there was only two weeks left till their NEWT's and the end of the school year and Hermione was feeling every bit as strained as previous years. It was hard to believe that this time last year Harry, Ron, and her had been on the run to defeat Voldemort. A year since her life had shifted from human girl to human-bat. It was sometimes very difficult to consider that she was a bat. Or that the teacher that she spent the first 6 years of her school years hating was now her mate. Ginny and Harry were engaged, and Ron and Lavender were getting serious. The normal twinge of jealousy went through her when she thought about the wedding she had dreamed of as a child that she wouldn't have. Severus hardly seemed the type of wizard that would get married and settle down. She sighed as she got up from her bed and headed to breakfast.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Severus for his part was aware of the stress and sadness that radiated from his mate on an almost constant basis now. The stress he accepted as finals nearing and the end of the year coming, but the sadness couldn't be fully chalked up to that. Sure, she was probably sad that she was leaving, but that didn't explain that she was experiencing so much sadness that they were both affected. Things had been easier over the last few months. The pack was healthy and thriving, Austin and Toby excluded because they were both still being dunderheads. Toby maintaining that he was too old, and that Austin was too young, while Austin maintained that Toby lied to him once, so why should he even bother. Overall it was a very migraine inducing situation, one that had had him taking a pain relieving potion on more than one occasion.

He looked up just in time to see his mate enter the hall and sit down next to Luna, who immediately showed Hermione the ring on her finger. Severus rolled his eyes slightly, Nott had been nervous about asking Luna to marry him because he thought she would say no. Something Severus thought he was being thick about, but Nott had finally asked the girl apparently. It wasn't surprising that the girl showed Hermione, what was surprising was the flash of extreme sadness that flickered across his mates faces, followed quickly by a look of longing, before her face settled back into supportive happiness. It was in those flashes of emotion and eventual evening of her face that he realized why her emotions had been so consuming and strong.

She wanted to get married.

Merlin's Beard.

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you that are following on Fanfiction and/or here, there are 31 chapters. I've condensed them here so that they fit into 18 chapters, but the story is currently up-to-date and now mirrors FF.net. Thanks for reading.


	20. Dance of Avoidance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hot damn. An update.

A/N: An update after four months. Wow. I’m impressed with myself. Sorry for the delay. 

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

NEWT’s had snuck up on the Hogwarts castle faster than seemed possible, which is why Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Harry, and Ron were in the library cramming so much last minute information into their brains it was amazing that they weren’t swollen.  Hermione had been so busy studying that she and Severus had barely said more than a handful of words to each other since he had to break up a fight at the bat house. She had been itching to take a nice fly over the last few days, feeling restless and twitchy, but every time she went to leave something stopped her. A new piece of information that she had to write down, a question fired at her from the boys, or the bone-weary tiredness that seemed to have settled into her body, the kind that didn’t go away regardless of hours a night she slept. 

Even now, as she scribbled out information about potions onto her parchment, her shoulder itched, a prickling sensation that made her want to tear her nails into the skin. Nothing soothed the sensation. She’d scrubbed her shoulder raw with her shower scrub, only to have it return after her shower. It was almost as though her mark was sick, like it knew that she and Severus hadn’t been intimate and it was determined to torture her until the bond was fulfilled again. Annoying to say the least, and agonizing at the most. Severus wasn’t making it any easier however, between detentions, grading, and alpha-bat shit, he was around as much as a unicorn in a brothel. Not for lack of trying on her part, but it wasn’t like she could march up to the head table and demand he pay attention to her. That would go over swimmingly, she could almost see his expression, and if looks could kill well… 

“HERMIONE!!” A voice yelled in her ear. 

“What?” She snapped out at Harry, her ear now ringing in annoying symphony with her throbbing shoulder. 

“Jeez, sorry. I just wanted that book. I called your name like 50 times,” Harry commented with a mulish look before turning back to his own parchment. Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the look on her friend’s face; like she’d told him his Firebolt had gone another round with the Whomping Willow and lost. 

Hermione sighed and placed the book by his elbow. “Sorry, Harry. I was distracted, stray thoughts about the upcoming exams.” 

The other four people at the table nodded in understanding, but the blonde sitting across from her stared a hole in the side of her head. She tried to ignore Luna, but a sharp kick to her shin put that idea out of her head. She looked up into the eyes of her friend and raised an eyebrow, responding with a sigh and nod when the other girl subtly tipped her head to the left. 

“I’ve got to use the loo, want to come Luna?” Hermione asked as she stood and stretched. Luna predictably nodded and stood as well. Ron’s voice behind them caused their footsteps to halt before they rounded the shelf however. 

“Why do girls go to the bathroom together?” 

Hermione stared at him with a slightly bored expression, “Ron, you do remember what happened in first year right? Went to the bathroom by myself, and was attacked by a mountain troll. My luck, I’ll find Voldemort hiding in a toilet from a forgotten toenail or something.” 

Harry snorted at her humor, but Ron stared after Hermione and Luna as they walked away. He waited until the sound of the footsteps faded away before turning back to Harry and whispering, “Does Hermione seem different to you?” 

Harry shook his head absentmindedly and crossed something out on his parchment, Ron shrugged and went back to his work, but Ginny frowned. 

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

“What’s the matter?” Luna asked as soon as they exited the library. 

“What do you mean? Noth—“

“Please do not insult my intelligence or our friendship by lying Hermione. I know you. You’re—unsettled. Why?” 

Hermione stared at the other girl for a moment, before she slumped against a wall near a suit of armor and sighed. Luna cast a spell around them and waited out her silence. “Severus and I haven’t been together since two weeks ago, we haven’t even talked really since then. Do you—do you think that he found someone when he went to the house and broke up that fight?” 

Luna searched Hermione’s face but shook her head, “No. Definitely not, there were only men there from what Nott said, and those women that are there are finding mates within the pack. No way would he fly to greener pastures, no pun intended.” 

Hermione didn’t feel reassured however, “How do you get Nott on his own? With him being older and a professor?”

Luna laughed slightly before leaning against the wall with Hermione. “Honestly? Why should I worry about him being older? He’s got an 18 year old mate, with a very active libido, what does he have to complain about? As for how I get him on his own, I find him. I go to his quarters.” 

“That’s it? You just waltz in and go, ‘hey Nott, I’m feeling horny, want to hit the sheets?’?” Hermione asked disbelievingly. 

“Well not exactly like that, but more or less.” Luna stared at her for a few seconds before adding. “What are you really worried about Hermione? This isn’t about Severus not wanting you, what is it really?” 

Hermione chewed her lower lip and glanced away from the all too knowing gaze of her friend. Her eyes were drawn inexplicably towards the engagement ring resting on her friend’s finger. “Everyone is planning for the future. Graduating, getting jobs in their chosen careers, getting—getting engaged.” 

Understanding flitted across Luna’s features before it was replaced by empathy. “Are you worried that you don’t have a future with Severus? You guys are mated Hermione! That’s kind of like a life-time deal.” 

“No, I know, it’s just—“

“It’s important to you.” Luna finished for her. 

Hermione nodded sharply, “Since I was a little girl, I planned my wedding, I planned on having a certain job, a perfect guy, and an amazing life after Hogwarts.”

“But?” Luna prodded after a few seconds of silence.

“But—those things changed, they changed as soon as Severus marked me. Suddenly I’m bound to a man, who I love now, but didn’t then. My dreams have been sucked down a drain and the harder I try to hold onto them, the faster they slip away.” Tears filled Hermione’s eyes and she angrily swiped them away. 

“Have you talked to Severus?” Luna asked, thankfully not lingering on Hermione’s emotional response. 

Hermione laughed hollowly, “No. I’ve seen him at mealtimes, and talked to him even less.” 

“So go find him, talk to him, I’m not the one you need Hermione; and as much as I wish I could help, this is a matter between you and Severus. It’s not something I could even begin to help with.” Hermione met Luna’s eyes and read the understanding for what it was. Luna was her friend, and she would be there when Hermione needed her; but this was beyond her capabilities. 

“When did you get so wise and grown up?” Hermione laughed wetly. 

“Ah you know, during the war and finding Nott, it just kind of happened. Blame the Nargles,” Luna joked back, forcing another laugh out of Hermione. “Go find Severus.” 

Hermione nodded, “Thanks.” 

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Luna watched Hermione walk away; her posture a lot more confident than it had been moments before. She tipped her blonde head to the side and listened until Hermione’s footsteps faded completely. “You can come out now, she’d gone.” 

Nott stepped out from the shadows looking vaguely abashed at being caught. “Eavesdropping Theo? Really?” Luna teased as she stepped into Nott’s space and tipped her chin up. 

“It’s not my fault you two decided to have a conversation in the middle of the corridor,” Nott argued as he wrapped his arms around the soft body of his mate and breathed in her scent. 

“Perhaps, but who canceled the spell? What if Hermione had been the one to cast it?” Luna asked with her face buried in Nott’s chest. 

“You continued talking, one would think you wanted me to hear,” Nott said lightly, reproach just barely audible in his voice. Luna pulled away and lifted her head to meet his honeyed eyes. 

“What is your friend thinking Theodore? Why is he acting this way?” Luna questioned the air around the couple suddenly serious. Nott looked away from the accusing look on his mate’s face, a stone of dread sinking in his gut. 

“Severus—got some information two weeks ago that—changed his view of himself pretty drastically. He’s had some trouble dealing with it. It’s caused him to re-examine a lot of things.” 

“He didn’t find someone else did he? Please tell me—“ 

“Of course not.” Nott snapped, causing Luna’s eyes to narrow. A feeling settled in her gut that made her shift uneasily. “He’s just—going through a lot right now.” 

Luna studied her mate’s face, taking in the uneasy look in his eyes and the way he was pulling away from her. His body language told her to drop the subject that the subject was not one that he was going to speak on. Luna’s heart ached for the girl currently walking towards the dungeons, for whatever challenges she was going to face. 

“I’m sorry,” Nott whispered, pulling her attention back towards himself. “I shouldn’t have snapped.” 

Luna shook her head gently, “I shouldn’t have pushed.” 

The two of them stood in silence for a few moments before a mischievous expression slunk its way across Nott’s face. “I wouldn’t mind if you walked up to me and said you were horny and wanted sex.” 

A startled laugh burst from Luna’s mouth before she could stop it, but it was followed by a sly grin. “Oh yeah? Well, I’m currently feeling very horn—“ 

Her words were cut off by Nott’s mouth capturing hers in a fierce kiss as he backed her up against the wall behind her. Their tongues twisted together and chased one another as Luna was pressed more firmly against the wall. It wasn’t until she felt Nott’s knee press against her core that she pulled away, nipping Nott’s lower lip before disentangling herself from his arms.  She crooked her finger at him and dragged him towards his quarters. Thoughts of Hermione long forgotten under a new kind of pressure. 

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

To say that Toby’s revelation that he was bisexual shocked Severus would be a gross understatement. Severus didn’t consider himself anything other than straight. He liked women, had always liked women. Perhaps that was the product of his upbringing though, of the constant danger of Voldemort’s presence in his life. He picked up the tumbler in his hand and downed the contents as he thought back over the reaffirmation that had taken place a week ago. No, he was definitely straight. 

***FLASHBACK***

_“Why are you so tense Severus? Why are you avoiding your mate?” Nott accused as he burst into Severus’ quarters to find his long-time friend drinking. “Really? It’s 5 in the afternoon, and you’ve already drank ¾ bottle of firewhiskey?” Severus didn’t responded, simply poured more whiskey in his tumbler and drank it down without pausing. Nott stalked forward, grabbed the bottle off Severus’ desk and threw it into the fire. Ignoring the shards of glass that ricocheted from the force and the increase of flames. “What the hell is your—?”_

_Severus slammed their lips together, his hand gripping Nott’s hair tightly in his right hand. Nott froze for a minute, while his brain caught up to the rest of his body, and he ripped himself away from his friend. His fist followed soon after, and Nott felt the satisfying crunch of a broken nose under his hand as Severus stumbled away from him._

_“Ow! What the fuck Nott?” Severus howled as he tripped his way back towards the armchair to his left._

_“That’s what I want to know! What the fuck Severus?” Nott yelled, uncaring of the wince Severus gave as his voice echoed around the room. “What the bloody hell was that?”_

_“It was a kiss you arse, or are you getting rusty?” Severus sneered, looking up at Nott through quickly blackening eyes. He pressed himself back against the chair slightly when Nott’s face darkened and he walked forward with purposeful steps until he was in front of the chair._

_“Why?” Nott watched as Severus slumped in defeat, falling against the arm of the chair in a posture so crushed Nott actually felt a pang of sympathy. He summoned a footstool and sat down on it, then pulled his wand out to heal Severus’ face. “Is this about Toby?”_

_Severus gave him a glare so hostile, Nott almost feared for his life. Almost. “What’s your issue with him? That’s he’s you, and you’re bisexual, or that he’s you and you’re not bisexual?”_

_“I do not like men! I enjoy women, Lily was a female, Hermione is female, I am nothing like Toby. I know that because I don’t like men. How could you even—“_

_“How do you know?”_

_“—ask that? Have you lost your—what?” Severus’ jaw clicked shut as he stared at Nott in horror._

_“How do you know you only like men?” Nott asked calmly, as he prodded Severus’ face._

_“I just kissed you, dunderhead, I didn’t like it,” Severus replied sounding mulish._

_“That wasn’t a kiss Severus, that was you punching me. With your face,” Nott growled out, his voice heavily laced with exasperation._

_“How do you know you like women then?” Severus argued, pulling his face away from Nott’s hand._

_“I’ve experimented with women, so I know that I like women and only women. I like their curves and softness. The way they smell, and how their hair feels in my—“_

_“Great, so you know you like women because you’ve been with men. I’ve been with women, I like women,” Severus snarled, feeling decidedly uncomfortable._

_“Severus,” Nott prodded, waiting until the other man looked at him before continuing. “He’s not you. Not entirely. He had 16 years of differences than you did. His life has shaped him, in ways yours hasn’t. Let it go.”_

_“I can’t. It keeps playing over in my head. What if I’m gay? What if Hermione is just a distraction from—“_

_This time it was Severus’ mouth that was covered, Nott’s mouth settling firmly over his own. Nott stilled waiting for Severus to respond, but all he did was sigh. Severus felt Nott’s tongue licking at the corner of his mouth, seeking entry, and he opened to it. Their tongues tangled for a minute, dancing in the familiar way his and Hermione’s did. Except this was all wrong. There was stubble where there should be silky cheeks; no hair curly softly across shoulders, not jasmine and vanilla scent filling the air. He pushed Nott away, forcing the other man on the stool again. The silence that filled the room was deafening, though, a weight lifted from his stomach and he felt lighter than he had in several days._

_“That is how you know you’re not bisexual or gay,” Nott said firmly, finally breaking the silence. When Severus only raised an eyebrow at him he continued, “If you were interested in anyone but Hermione, or women in general, you would be aroused. Do you feel aroused?”_

_“No. I feel like I just kissed my father.” Severus grumbled, wiping his mouth against the back of his hand._

_“Perfect. You’re not interested in men. Right?” Severus nodded. “Great. That never happened.” Another nod. “And Severus?”_

_“Yes?”_

_“Pull your head out of your ass and quit acting like one?” Nott scolded, then healed Severus’ nose with no warning, enjoying his cry of pain all too much as he left the room leaving Severus scowling at his back._

_***END FLASHBACK***_

Severus took another swallow from his whiskey and stared at the little black box that lay on his desk, its contents scaring him more than any sexuality crisis ever could. 

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

Hermione paused outside of Severus’ quarters, and took a deep breath, gathering her self-confidence before pushing the door open. She entered the room and noticed a light coming from Severus’ office, after crossing the room she knocked gently on the door. 

“Enter.” Came the deep baritone voice of her mate, causing goose bumps to dance across her skin. Hermione pushed open the door, and glanced around until she spotted Severus sitting at his desk, closing a drawer to his left before he looked up. “Hermione, hello.” 

Hermione took in the sight of him sitting at his desk looking completely at ease, as though there hadn’t been any distance between them. He looked as familiar as always, and she took a moment to drink in the sight of him before launching into the speech that she perfected on her way here. 

“Severus, I deserve better than this. I am an intelligent witch, and was one of the important people who had part in defeating Voldemort. For that reason, I believe that it is not too much to ask to be told if you are no longer interested in me. I understand that I am young, and Harry Potter’s best friend. I had thought you would have gotten over those two things before you said you loved me, but I digress. You said you loved me, you said that you would be faithful to me. So, I’m here asking you if there is anything you would like to tell me? Please take this chance to tell me anything you wish, and I will attempt to accept it as maturely as i—“ 

“What the bloody hell are you on about?” Severus interrupted, his voice cold. Hermione faltered, his eyes snapping from where they had been staring over his shoulder to meet his eyes. His black eyes which were crackling with fire and anger, making her feel slightly sick. 

“I—I—um—I just wanted to give you a chance to—“ 

“Call things off with you?” Severus accused his voice still glacial as he stood from his desk and walked towards her. 

Hermione looked away from his face and bowed her head slightly as she nodded, “Yes. Exactly.” 

Familiar fingers gripped her chin firmly and tipped her head up so that she met his eyes. His gaze was flickering across her face, taking in the sight of her pink cheeks and slightly damp eyes. “Why, pray tell, would you have an idiotic idea like that?” 

Hermione felt her face flush in embarrassment and she scowled, “Maybe because we haven’t seen each other outside of class or mealtimes in two weeks! We haven’t said anything to each other and we most definitely haven’t been intimate. You come back from the house distance and do the dance of avoidance, what am I supposed to think?” 

Severus took a deep breath so the bubbling anger he felt didn’t rise to the surface and spill over. “I had things to deal with, that didn’t allow me to be privy to your every whim.” 

Angry tears filled Hermione’s eyes as she jerked her chin from Severus’ fingers jerkily. “I apologize _professor_ , I forgot that you weren’t available to any ‘whims’ I may have. Forgive me, it won’t happen again.” Hermione turned on her heel and moved to leave the room, making it all the way to the door before Severus’ voice called him back. 

Severus watched as Hermione froze, her shoulders tense and her head tipped up slightly, keeping the tears in her eyes at bay. He took a deep breath and pinched the end of his nose. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.” He walked towards her slowly, as though she were a wild animal poised for an attack. When he was close enough, he gripped her arm and pulled her into his chest just as a hiccoughing sob broke from her throat. It was like a dam had been broken, and soon he had an armful of hysterical girl clutching his coat. He didn’t know how long they stood like that, Hermione crying herself into silence, and him simply breathing in the familiar scent of her body. It reminded him of summer days spent on the grounds of Hogwarts, the jasmine that his mother grew in her window garden for years before his father forced her to stop. It reminded him of safety, and strength, but most of all it reminded him of home. Reminded him that he belonged somewhere, to someone. He became aware of Hermione staring at him as soon as he became aware of the silent room. His eyes automatically focused back on her, and noticed the obvious signs of fatigue on her face. Blackish-purple circle sat in sharp contrast under her dull brown eyes, along with pink cheeks and chapped lips. 

“When was the last time you slept?” He asked softly. 

“Last night,” Hermione croaked out, her throat sore from crying. 

“A full night sleep, more than a few hours?” Severus prodded. 

“The night you went to the house,” Hermione admitted, feeling slightly foolish. 

Severus looked at her reproachfully, but sighed and led her through the room towards his bedroom. “You worry too much, Hermione. I am sorry for making you fret needlessly.” 

Hermione gave him a smile that was nearly blinding in its beauty, only slightly dimmed by the exhaustion on her face. Her tongue came out to lick her lower lip, moistening it like smiling had hurt her lips. He leaned forward and closed the short distance between them. Kissing her again felt like flying for the first time. He groaned when she opened underneath him immediately, granting him access to her mouth. This kiss was so different from the one Nott had bestowed upon him; her scent surrounded him and her taste burst across her tongue. It tasted like peppermint tea and something solely Hermione. He deepened the kiss, reveling in her moan as he pressed her back towards the bed. They broke apart only long enough for her to lie back on the bed.

Hermione quickly stripped her shirt off, and reached to pull his over his head as he shucked his overcoat. Pants followed close behind the shirts, underwear and socks joined the pile as well until they were pressed skin on skin. Severus understood what Nott had been saying before, Hermione’s curves molded to his body. Soft where he was hard, firm but unjaded. Severus’ fingers slipped into her brown hair to keep her head in place while he ravished her mouth with lips and tongue. The silken strands slid through his fingers, reminding him how much he loved her hair. It had been bushy in her younger years, but had since softened out into waves. When breathing became necessary he skimmed his mouth from hers, kissed down her jaw, and into her neck. Here the scent of vanilla and jasmine was even stronger, the smell of it almost intoxicating. Heady in the best sense of the word, making him light headed with it. 

Hermione felt like a livewire had been stuck under her skin, wherever Severus’ lips pressed, goose bumps shot up creating a tingling sensation that made her writhe. When his mouth closed around her left nipple, her back arched off the bed as her hand came up to hold him in place. Once her left nipple had puckered to the point of pain, he moved his mouth to the other, lavishing the same attention there. Anticipation burned in her groin has his mouth left her breasts and trailed towards where she was wet and waiting. She spread her legs wider to accommodate his shoulders and couldn’t feel ashamed when he gave a chuckle at her eagerness. Feather-light kisses were pressed around her sex, on her thighs, above her pubic bone, everywhere but the one place she ached for his mouth. It was torture; he was doing it on purpose. 

Severus spread Hermione’s lips with his thumbs and stared at the slickened area flushed a rosy color with arousal. He flicked his tongue out and barely touched her clit, pulling his head back slightly when the expected bucking of her hips tried to get more friction. When Hermione’s hips settled, he reapplied his tongue in light lick, barely there touches that enflamed more than satisfied. He smirked as Hermione whimpered and thrust her hips up seeking more contact. He continued with teasing until there was a sizeable puddle from Hermione’s arousal on the sheets, and she had been reduced to a quivering, panting mess. Only then did he seal his mouth over her clit and suck in quick movements as his tongue danced across her clit. Hermione went rigid, then, like a rubber band snapping, she spasmed and her nails dug into his arm where it pinned her hips to the bed. He eased her through the aftershocks of her orgasm until she was pushing his head away from overstimulation. 

Hermione blinked open bleary eyes and looked up into the face of her mate. The look in his eyes could only be described as lust on fire. Want, need, and hunger were so apparent in his gaze that she momentarily forgot to breathe. She felt the blunt nudge of his head at her entrance and she wrapped her legs around his hips automatically. A shared moan echoed around the room as Severus slid to the root and stilled to adjust. It had been too long since their last time, too long since they had last been connected like this. All heat and sweat mixed with the buzz of pleasure just out of their reach. Severus began moving his hips, a slow, glorious slide as he thrust in and out; her walls still pulsed randomly in the aftershocks of her climax. Severus kept up a slow pace, as though they had all the time in the world, slowly building tempo until he was withdrawing almost completely only to shove back in. Eventually Severus’ hips stuttered and lost their rhythm as his own release swirled up and down his spine, he gripped Hermione’s leg and placed one on his shoulder.  The change in angle caused Hermione to cry out as he barely rubbed her clit on every forward thrust. 

Severus felt Hermione’s walls tighten around his length as it slid in and out of her entrance; he looked down to watch himself disappear into her body. He lifted his hand from her thigh and pressed against her clit, shoving her over the cliff into release. Her shout of his name as well as her spasming walls caused him to tip over after his own release. His hips stuttered and slowed until he was shallowing thrusting, making his climax last longer. He gently lowered Hermione leg so that she could wrap it around his hips again then collapsed on his side to catch his breath. A quick silent spell later and they were both clean from sweat, he pulled Hermione into his arms waiting until she pillowed her head on his chest before he ran his hands through her hair. 

“Hermione, I have a question to ask you. It’s why I’ve been so distant; I was unsure how you would respond. I was scared.” Severus paused trying to think of how best to continue with a soft snore cut off any more thought. He looked down to see Hermione’s eyes shut. She was fast asleep. 

XxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxX

A/N: So actual longish chapter. Tell me what you think?


	21. Bloody Hell

A/N: So, an update. Final-friggen-ly. I got into a rut that never ended and my muse ran off. She’s kind of back now.

OoooOoooOoooOoooO

Hermione blinked her eyes open to a dark room and a soft snoring sound coming from behind her left ear. A grin flittered across her face as Severus breath tickled her cheek, making a little grunting sound on every other exhale. She shifted away from the slumbering man’s arms as her bladder made its fullness known. The trek to the bathroom was painful as she stubbed her toe on the edge of the bed, and then again on the door frame to the bathroom. A small squeak escaped her when she lit the lights in the bathroom and was momentarily blinded, resulting in another grunt of pain as her knee found the edge of the door as she closed it behind her. Once her bladder was empty, she tried to quietly leave the bathroom and return to the bed.

“You are as quiet as a blind, drunk, giant,” A gruff voice said from the bed, startling her.

“Ahhhh!” Hermione screamed before her brain registered that it was only Severus. She could feel the bed shaking as she went to sit down and could hear the snorts of laughter the man unsuccessfully tried to stifle. Hermione retaliated with a pillow to his face, smirking in the dark when Severus’ laughter turned to a grunt. “Shut it you.” She slid under the covers and cuddled up to the warm body next to her, falling asleep between a breath and the next.

OoooOoooOoooOoooO

The next time she awoke it was to Severus standing over her, his wet hair dripping onto her warm body. “Are you planning the sleep the day away or were you going to emerge from the bed sometime?” Severus asked sardonically as he moved away from her.

Hermione scowled as his retreating back, but couldn’t help but admire the shifting muscles in his back as he strode to the wardrobe to get dressed. “You have all the pleasantness in the morning that Ronald does and none of the positives.” She snarked at him as she entered the bathroom, she didn’t think about her words until she exited the bathroom and found Severus glaring at the door. “What’d the door do you to?” She inquired.

Severus’ eyes met hers for a moment before he turned on his heel and walked briskly for the door. Hermione called out before he could open it however, and she saw his back go rigid. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” Severus growled, moving to open the door again.

“Ballocks. You were fine before I went into the loo, and I come out to you looking at it as though you could set it aflame by will alone. Is this about what I said about Ron? I—“

“I am well aware that Mister Weasley is closer to your age, and a mite—“ Severus paused as though searching for the word. “More attractive in certain ways, but being confronted with my failings first thing in the morning is not anything anyone would appreciate.” Hermione shivered at the coldness in her mate’s voice and it took a moment for her brain to register his words.

“Your—your failings? What? Is that what you think? I only meant—“

“I know perfectly well what you meant,” Severus snapped as he whirled around to face her. “Would you like so much to go back to Weasley? Be the good housewife he expects you to be and raise a horde of children?”

“Now wait just one damn minute!” Hermione shouted over him. “I never gave any indication that I wanted anyone other than you!”

“You implied—“

“I implied that I couldn’t beat you over the head with a great large club like I could with Ronald, but perhaps that would be the best way to get you to listen to me! At least Ronald acts like he likes me other than when we were in bed!” Hermione accused. Instantly she wished she could recall the words as Severus froze, he opened his mouth, only to shut it again. There was a moment of silence as Hermione watched him turn and leave the room, slamming the door behind him with a bang.

Hermione growled in frustration and kicked the desk that stood to the left of her. The pieces exploded everywhere, aided slightly by the frizzle of magic that leaked out of her in her distress. She watched in horror as the desk flew apart and scattered across the room like they were nothing more than leaves in the wind. “Well fuck.” She lifted her hand to fix the desk when an item caught her eye. Gingerly she stepped over the pieces of the now ruined desk, until she was standing over top of a drawer. Hermione picked the drawer up, and brushed aside the pieces of parchment and quills till she revealed a little blue box. The drawer fell to the ground as she thumbed the box open and saw what was inside.

OooOooOooOooOooO

Severus seethed as he stormed through the corridor on the way to Nott’s chambers. He couldn’t believe how infuriating the witch was. Actually, he could. She had always been infuriating but this put the icing on the entire cake. Portraits whispered as he stomped past but were quick to cease with one glare in their direction. Nott’s chamber door came into view, he didn’t stop before pushing the door open, and trudging inside.

Only to find Nott decidedly not alone and decidedly indisposed. His eyes were fixed on the image on Nott’s ass pumping into his mate’s body before his brain informed him he should turn around. The high pitch screech that followed his entrance made him wince, as did the sound of flesh hitting flesh.

“What the bloody hell woman?” Nott yelped angrily.

“Ah—sorry,” Severus said, not turning around.

“Doesn’t anybody know how to knock anymore?” Nott growled out, a whisper of fabric indicted that Luna was now covered and when Severus checked, the pair had both covered their nudeness. Nott looked furious while Luna was doing a fairly good impression of tomato while giving him a look that promised death. “Can I help you Severus? It’s not often I get the privilege to experience coitus interruptis.”

“Hermione—“ Severus paused unsure of how to proceed. His silence was apparently taken as a question.

“—is not currently here.”

Severus shot him a scathing look and replied blithely, “Oh Merlin, how observant of you. Thank you for assuring me you weren’t having a threesome involving my mate.”

Nott gave him a trying look before glancing forlornly at Luna. “I’m sorry love; we’ll have to finish this later. My libido was just killed by an overgrown bat.” Luna nodded understandingly but gave Severus a pointed look. She wrapped the sheets around herself and disappeared into the bathroom leaving a naked Nott and an uncertain Severus behind. Nott looked mournfully at his wilted erection before standing to pull on his clothing.

“Sex in the morning Nott? Really? Are you a teenager?” Severus teased, breaking the silence. Nott snorted in response.

“You do know that your equipment works at all times of the day correct? Not just when the sun goes down. At least mine does, perhaps you need a spell.” Nott’s teasing got him a rude hand gesture and a scowl. “Now, what have you done this time?”

“Why do you always assume—“

“Severus, you’re my best mate and I love ya like a brother but you’re dumb as a troll when it comes to your mate.”

Severus grumbled slightly but answered, “I think Hermione wants to go back to Mister Weasley.”

Nott and Severus looked at each other for a few moments before Nott burst out laughing. He laughed until he curled in on himself and fell back on the bed. Severus endured the other man’s laughter for a few moments longer before growling, “I am so pleased that my mate’s displeasure gives you so much joy. What a great fellow you are.”

Nott’s laughter subsided slowly, and he sat up wiping tears out of his eyes. “I am sorry, but that was quite funny. What makes you think that she would like the freckle-faced twit?”

“Theodore Nott! That is one of my friends you are talking about and you would do well to remember it,” Luna scolded as she came out of the bathroom, showered and fully dressed. Severus smirked as Nott ducked his head and apologized. Luna gave him a kiss, bade the both good bye, and then left the room to go to breakfast.

“You are so whipped,” Severus observed, earning a dirty look from his friend.

“You’re just jealous because you’re in the doghouse,” Nott shot back. “Anyhow, why do you think she wants the—boy?”

“She made a comment this morning that implied she was unsatisfied with me.”

Nott searched his face for a moment before speaking. “What were her words exactly?”

“’You have all the pleasantness that Ronald has with none of the positives.’”

“—And you took that to mean she wanted do bone his rockin’ bod?”

Severus’ face twisted in disgust. “You spend too much time around Toby.”

“Did you let her explain what she actually meant? Or did you just storm away like a child denied his favorite toy?”

“She explained.”

“And did she actually mean that she wanted to go back to him?”

“No but—“

“So you jumped to conclusions and decided to come here and interrupt my morning shag.”

“She said that I don’t show her any attention outside of the bed,” Severus commented, ignoring Nott’s observation entirely.

“When was the last time you two went flying?”

“A little over a month.”

“Every time you’ve seen each other, have you ended up in bed?”

“Or rowing,” Severus agreed.

“So your last flight together was a month ago, and you either fight or fuck, am I getting that correctly?” Severus nodded slowly. “Well no wonder she thinks that. For Merlin’s sake Severus! You can’t just bed the girl and expect her to be happy. You’re in a relationship! She’s for mate for crying out loud, if I were your mate I’d be seeking lovin’ from someone else too.”

“I’ve been busy!” Severus argued. “The problems with the bat house, and the fight between Toby and Austin—“

“—Is not as important as the bond between you and your mate. You two need each other. To live, to survive, and to be healthy. Look at yourself Severus! You’ve lost weight and you have such deep shadows under your eyes it looks like Potter broke your nose again.”

Severus glowered at his oldest friend. “It’s from stress.”

“No, it’s from you having your head up your arse. Go find Hermione, go for a fly, go see the batletts. For the love of all that’s good in the world, try to keep yourselves out of bed. Show her you care.” Nott said, exasperation and chastisement clear in his voice. He made little shooing motion with his hands until Severus rolled his eyes and left the room.

“It’s too damn early in the morning to deal with this.” Nott grumbled as he gathered up the sheet from the end of the bed. The scent of his mate’s arousal made his penis twitch and begin to harden. “A perfectly good erection, gone to waste,” He walked into the bathroom muttering to himself and resigned his fate to a cold shower.

OooOooOooOooOooOooO

Hermione was sitting on Severus bed when he walked back into the room, looking less angry and more relaxed than he had before he stormed off. The calm exterior disappeared however upon taking in the sight of her and his room. His desk was still lying in pieces with parchment and quills, with her sitting on his bed holding the ring box. She watched his eyes flick around the room, before resting on her. When she placed the box on the bed next to her, his eyes flew to it and what little color he had, disappeared.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t snooping. I just—lost my temper and found it,” Hermione spoke, breaking the silence with a soft apology. Severus was still frozen in the doorway, so she sighed and got up from the bed. With a quick flick of her hand, the desk and room was returned to their previous states. She moved towards the door, determinedly refusing to blink and let unshed tears fall. Her progress was halted however, when a gentle hand grabbed her arm. Hermione stood still, not meeting Severus’ eyes until a finger touched her chin gently.

Severus was staring at her when her eyes met his, and she opened her mouth to speak when he cut her off. “I am not yet used to dealing with certain—emotions,” Severus confessed with a wince. “I should not have accused you of unfaithfulness however.”

“I shouldn’t have said you only wanted to shag me and that was it,” Hermione agreed, giving him a small watery smile.

“In that respect, I can understand why you believed that to be the case. However, you mean more to me than anyone ever has.”

“Except—“

“Including Lily, Hermione,” Severus said firmly. At her disbelieving look, he let out a sigh and led her to the bed. “Lily was my best friend, had been since we were young, you know that. But from the time we were sorted into different houses, to the time that I made the mistake of pushing her away, it was a hopeless crush and a sense of familiarity. She means—so much to me, meant so much to me. She was a bright spot in an otherwise shit childhood but never once did I consider about mating with her.” Severus admitted softly.

“You didn’t really choose me either,” Hermione pointed out.

“I did.” Severus debated, at her skeptical look he chuckled. “Hermione, if it was just a matter of a willing witch, Leighanna would have been my mate long before you were even born.” When Hermione’s face darkened he hastened to continue. “It wasn’t just a matter of being willing, which you certainly weren’t.” He gave her a pointed look. “However, I watched you grow from an annoying 11 year old, to the witch who fought in a battle that a child should not have had to fight. When I saw you that night, I didn’t see a student. I didn’t see the child who so drove me mad through her school years. I saw a woman, a witch, fighting against evil with all that she had, and determinedly choosing not to give up. You faced down a werewolf, who had already done much to you, and refused to be cowed. You saw me, and laid your wand down, despite what I had done to Dumbledore. In that moment, I saw a woman that was brave, smart, courageous, and a million other adjectives. I wanted that woman for a mate, because she was everything good and kind. I wanted you, even though you kicked your feet, and fought me at every turn. So please, lay aside the belief that I was forced due to Greyback’s actions. I chose, he pushed my hand quite a bit, but I still chose.”

Silence greeted his words, and he tried not to fidget as Hermione sat next to him, her eyes on her lap. Just as he opened his mouth to say something more, Hermione moved and wrapped him in a hug. A vice loosened around his chest as he wrapped his arms around her back and held his mate. Letting the calming smell of _home_ and _safe_ reached his nose. He buried his nose in her neck, and felt her shiver against him. A new scent filled his nose, the scent of an aroused mate, and his body responded eagerly. He pulled back to kiss her, when Nott’s words came back to him and his arousal was snuffed out like a flame.

“Let’s go for a fly,” Severus said, causing Hermione to pause in her attempts to get her hands under his shirt.

“Now?” Hermione questioned.

“Yes, right now. We could go see how the others are doing,” Severus replied.

“Uhm, okay.”

“Go get dressed in fresh clothes, and meet me in the entrance hall in an hour.” Severus watched her leave, then turned back to the box that was still lying on the bed. He picked it up and put it in his pocket, before moving off to send an owl to Toby.

OooOooOooOooOooO

Hermione stood on the grounds of Hogwarts with her wings stretched, the feeling of the wind trying to take her away made her dig her nails into the ground, but her eyes were closed in pleasure. A call from above her made her open her eyes and look up to see three bats coming towards her. She sent back a chitter to her mate and inwardly smiled as the black bat soared down to land next to her. He spread his wings in a display that was purely male bat used to impress a mate. Hermione sent back another chitter as Nott and Luna came to rest next to the two. Luna matched Nott in most ways, but her feathers were tipped with blonde like her hair, while Nott’s were brown all the way through. Severus chittered to the three of them and then took off again, waiting till they followed before heading for the bat sanctuary Severus had made.

The flight was lengthy, and by the time Hermione landed her arms ached slightly. Nott and Severus landed and transformed with their usual grace while Hermione and Luna were a bit more clumsy. Luna ended up knocking into Severus half-way through her transformation, and Hermione, while trying transform so that her feet hit the ground, ended up overshooting and slamming into the side of the house.

“Ow,” Hermione moaned once her body fully shifted and protested from the rough treatment.

“I’m so sorry Professor, let me help you up,” Luna apologized, trying to help Severus up who was still on the ground grasping his groin. “Oh dear, I am sorry. My knee slipped, and—“

“It’s alright Miss Lovegood,” Severus gasped out, sounding a bit hoarse.

“We’ll work on the landing a bit,” Nott said through his tears of laughter, he was bent double trying to stay on his feet while his shoulders shook with mirth.

“It’s not funny Nott,” Hermione scolded, though she also wore a smile. “Do you need some ice?” She asked Severus.

“Perhaps you should kiss it and make it better,” Nott offered.

“Shut up Nott!” Hermione and Severus said at the same time. “Nott, go tell everyone we’re here.” Severus told Nott, as he slowly got to his feet, wincing when the muscles in his groin pulled.

“Professor, I really am sorry,” Luna said, looking uncertain and keeping her eyes away from Severus.

“You are not the first witch to knock me over, Miss Lovegood, and I do so doubt you’ll be the last,” Severus reassured her, nodding at her firmly when she met his eyes. Luna smiled at him and disappeared into the house behind Nott.

Hermione walked closer to Severus, “Are you okay?”

“My testicles hurt,” Severus said, managing to sound annoyed and petulant at the same time making Hermione bite her lip to keep from smiling.

“Do you want me to kiss them?” Hermione teased with a wink.

Severus growled and pulled her into his arms to seize her lips in a fierce kiss. Their tongues tangled together and chased each other, only separating when oxygen became dire. “You are such a tease, witch.”

“You like it,” Hermione whispered against his mouth, panting slightly.

“Merlin save me, come, I have a surprise.” Severus urged, gently taking her hand and leading her into the house. Hermione looked around, smiling warmly at the people they came across as they walked towards the living room where the majority of the people were gathered. There were at least forty people milling around the room, some she knew and some she didn’t, but each of them apparently were part of the pack if the sense of companionship of the room was anything to go by.

“Who are all these people?” Hermione asked in a low voice, looking at all the unfamiliar faces.

“People who have come from other places, those that were following Leighanna, and others that came simply because they were tired of not belonging,” Severus answered in an equally low tone.

“I didn’t realize there were so many.”

“A lot of them went into hiding when Voldemort started taking over, bats are very useful to have in a battle you see, they can fly and many can transform with ease. Very useful to someone who wants to fight and kill a lot of people in a short amount of time.” Severus explained turning away as a young boy approached. Hermione studied him and though he looked no more than 17 or 18. “Austin, hello.”

“Hey Severus, so this is your illusive mate?” The boy—Austin—asked.

“That’s me,” Hermione said stiffly, feeling slightly off-footed at the way Austin looked at her.

“She seems a lot different than Leighanna, not as—blessed, if you know what I mean.”

Hermione opened her mouth angrily but Severus intervened, “You will treat her with the respect she deserves Austin, or you can get out.”

Austin stared at Severus incrediously, “Yeah because I’m sure T—“

“I am the leader and alpha of this pack Austin, and you would do well to remember it,” Severus said loudly, causing the chatter to die across the room. Austin glared at Severus for a moment before lowering his eyes and whispering “yes sir”. He said a quick mumbled apology to Hermione before disappearing into the crowd. Severus raised an eyebrow at the people and they got the hit and resumed their conversations.

“Don’t know why you let that little toe-rag join us, Severus,” Nott grumbled from behind them.

“Because Nott, he’s just a child—“

“He’s 18—“

“He’s still a child in comparison to our lifespan, he needs guidance,” Severus explained calmly.

“He needs a firm spanking. Maybe with a belt,” Nott observed.

“Kinky,” Another voice said causing them to look around. A man was standing before them holding a mug of butterbeer and looking between Severus and Hermione.

“Stephon, you look well,” Severus said, causing the man to tip his head in acknowledgement.

“Yes, your potions did wonders for me,” The other man replied. He caught sight of Hermione confused look and spoke again. “I was born a bat, however, I had an unfortunate run in with a werewolf, and so now I’m both, only—not.” Hermione froze for a moment, fear making her stomach clench painfully as the memory of the last werewolf she encountered sprung up in her mind. The keen sense of smell werewolf’s possess must have alerted Stephon to the fear radiating off her. “Ah shucks sugar, no reason to be afraid. I’ve got the form of a werewolf but the temperament of a bat. I’m as cuddly as a pup,” Stephon said, an unfamiliar accent coating his words thickly. “I won’t bite, hell, I’m more likely to hump your leg.”

That startled a laugh out of Hermione, causing the tension to lift in the room, and Severus to relax next to her. “Your accent is very unique, where are you from?”

Severus stiffened next to her, and she glanced at him in question as Stephon started speaking, “I was born in America, didn’t come over here to Britain till I followed a friend. I reckon you haven’t had the opportunity to meet him, but Georgia’s where I hail from.” Hermione smiled despite herself, the accent and overall friendliness of the man putting her at ease. Severus must have felt the same way, because she felt his muscles relax slightly too. “Now what’s this big announcement ya’ll said was so important?”

Nott kicked Severus in the calf causing him to wince, before calling over the din in the room, “Hey, listen up everyone!” The noise in the room quickly ceased as everyone turned to face the trio now standing at the front of the room. Stephon stepped back, and joined the rest looking at Severus. Nott kicked Severus in the calf again, causing him to startle slightly and glare at his friend, and then he turned to Hermione who was watching the two of them with confusion on her face. Severus gripped Hermione’s hand and stared at her face, watching fear and confusion battle with each other, until he couldn’t bear it anymore.

“Iwantoaskyoutobemywife.” Severus spat out, causing Hermione to jump slightly at the barrage of words. Nott snorted behind the two of them and tried to look innocent when Severus sent a glare over his shoulder. He took a deep breath and spoke more clearly, “Hermione, I love you,” he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the blue box. Hermione gaped at him as he opened it and showed her. “Please, marry me?” There was total silence in the room, all waiting for Hermione to answer.

“Yes, of course,” Hermione whispered, it wouldn’t have been audible if there were any other people but bats in the room. The room was suddenly filled with cheers and whistles as Severus fumbled to get the ring out of the box. His nervous hands caused the box to slip and fall, and everyone watched in silence as the ring popped out and rolled across the floor; before falling into the heating shaft that lay in the old house. Hermione stared in horror as the ring disappeared, making a little ‘tink’ noise as it fell. Nott and Severus looked like they’d been clubbed, while the rest of the room held its breath.

“Sweet baby Jesus,” Stephon said, breaking the silence.

OooOooOooOooOooO

A/N: An update finally. Gosh. For those of you who are natives of the South, I’m sorry if I totally butchered your style of speaking. I live down in Alabama, but I’m from Michigan. Let me know what you think.

A/N #2: If you’re just joining the story now, I know that bats are mammals. I know that they don’t have feathers and mate with a gajillion different females instead of one. I know they don’t have packs. But, this is fantasy, and make believe, and if you can accept Hippogriffs and Crumpled-Horn Snorkacks, can we just overlook the magical bat-bird feathered mammal. Thank you.


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